Love Rebound
by Kari Kurofai
Summary: I gave you everything, but it wasn’t enough . . . Two and a half years have passed, and Naruto and Lee struggle to move on after loosing their most precious people. SasuNaru, LeeSaku, NejiNaru, LeeGaa, GaaLee
1. Chapter 1

**Love Rebound: Depression, Spelled L-e-e**

Rock Lee swung his legs back and forth through the air from where he was sitting on the edge of the balcony of his apartment. His face was contorted with emotions, quite unlike his usual peppy self. He leaned his head against the bars of the railing and sighed. _It's not like it was divorce or anything . . ._ his mind whispered. Yeah, divorce would have been worse, had he ended up married that is. But he hadn't, had he.

_Just shot down in a ball of burning flames and ashes when you proposed. _His hand swung up and he smacked himself in the face with quite a bit of force. "Stop it," he whispered, "stop thinking about it!"

But that wouldn't make it go away, would it. They had dated for two years and he'd been . . . _Denied_ in the end. The word screamed through his brain repeatedly, _denied, denied, denied_. "Shut up, shut up, shut up" Lee muttered in answer to his thoughts.

Two years. He'd enjoyed it. He could still remember the day Sakura had finally decided to go out on a date with him. How his mind had yelled with joy, and he had been filled with the awesomeness of youth and love. It had been good, hadn't it? Even on the days when Sakura had only come over simply to have someone nearby while she cried. He'd felt needed. Wanted. Why did it have to . . .

. . . Why'd it have to end . . .?

Lee pulled his legs up from between the bars of the railing close to his chest. His arms wrapped around them in a pitiful sort of self hug. He buried his face against his knees and sighed again. It really wasn't fair. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

In Lee's mind, the day he proposed to his loved one, it was supposed to be a happy moment. She was supposed to say, "Oh yes! Of course I'll marry you!" and leap into his arms. Then they'd twirl around laughing and kissing and live happily ever after. That was how it was supposed to be. Lee mentally drew a line in his mind and labeled the sides "fantasy" and "reality" and placed that thought on the fantasy side.

Things don't work like that in real life. No matter how much he wished they did.

He could still see Sakura-san, looking as beautiful as ever even with that regretful smile on her face as she looked at the ring Lee had presented her with. And she had continued smiling when she'd said those words. "I'm sorry Lee . . . But I think we both know that it would never work out . . ."

Lee sniffed in outrage at the memory of a few hours ago. "Never work out"? hadn't they been together for two whole years? Why couldn't it work out for the rest of their lives? But his mind flew back to how they kissed. Not just the first time, but every time. Sakura had always, always looked away at the end like something was wrong. At first Lee thought it was just because the Kunoichi was missing Sasuke, but he knew better. There was something wrong with their whole relationship. When he'd asked Sakura why she wouldn't marry him, she'd said what he'd feared all along.

"It's superficial. For both of us, Lee."

Lee fisted his hands into his bowl cutted black hair. It really wasn't fair. "Superficial . . ." he whispered the word to himself as if trying to make it make more sense, but it wasn't working very well.

"What's superficial?" A voice said cheerfully, cutting into Lee's thoughts like chainsaw.

Konoha's Blue Beast looked up at the speaker, who was perched rather precariously on top of the railing. He was a boy of about eighteen, a year younger than Lee. He had strikingly bright blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He was wearing a white coat with a bottom borderline of red flames over his orange sweats and black t-shirt. Around his back he had strapped a rather messy bundle that could hardly be recognized as a baby backpack.

Lee stood up and pulled the child, that couldn't even be seen inside his father's lame attempt of assembling the contraption, out. "Naruto. Don't be so reckless if you're going to carry him around with you everywhere."

Naruto Uzumaki made a pouty face at his friend, his lower lip sticking out at an odd angle. "So mean. like I'd endanger the life of my precious," he scooped the baby back form Lee, "Minato."

Lee took the whimpering child back in a stubborn movement. "But you will make him catch cold if you stay out here." He motioned with a free hand towards his back door, and led Naruto inside. Without looking up as the blonde closed the glass door, Lee sat down on the bed, still cradling the baby in his arms.

The child had dark black hair, which was already just as spiky as his father's. his eyes were the same brilliant blue as Naruto's as well. But despite his resemblance to Ninetail carrier, he looked more like the original bearer of his middle name. "Minato Sasuke Uzumaki," Lee whispered quietly.

He could still remember how long Naruto had begged Tsunade to hand over the DNA. How the Hokage had insisted that it was only for the revival of shinobi who could use the Sharingan. And was not to be touched for another twenty years. He remembered how Naruto had begged and pleaded until the Godaime had given in at last. How they'd worked together with Sakura-san and Shikamaru for six moths to artificially create the child.

A child made of DNA from Naruto, and the deceased last of the Uchiha.

Naruto leaned his elbows on Lee's shoulders, which was just a little bit annoyingly painful. "Wow. How'd you make him fall asleep like that? Teach me, cause he won't shut up at night." The blonde's eyes glazed over briefly before he returned back to reality. "So . . . Um . . . I heard about you and Sakura . . ."

Lee didn't look up at this statement. But he let the word that had plagued him for the past few hours slip out. "Superficial . . ."

Naruto nodded, though he knew Lee couldn't see him from they way they were sitting. "So that's what you meant. Did she say that? She is rather blunt with the truth sometimes . . ."

Lee's head jerked around at this, "what do you mean by that! It wasn't superficial at all! I- we loved each other! We-"

"That's another lie, Lee," Naruto stated bluntly. He raised a finger to his lips, reminding Lee that he still held a sleeping baby in his lap.

"It's not-" Lee tried to protest weakly.

"The only truth in that is that you loved each other like friends," Naruto said evenly, wary of overtipping Lee's anger scale. "But you never loved each other enough to be married." He waved a hand airily in demonstration of the uselessness of the entire subject. "You loved her only because you felt like you had to protect her when no one else could. And she loved you because she needed that protection, if only for a short time. Because she felt vulnerable and alone after . . ." He stopped, and reached out unconsciously to ruffle the hair of the sleeping baby in Lee's lap, and didn't bother to continue the train of thought.

Lee watched the hand that ran through the child's hair dark hair for a few moments. He'd known that all along, hadn't he. He'd known that that was the real reason Sakura had agreed to go out with him, a few months after Sasuke had died. But why did that make Lee's love superficial as well?

_Because you didn't give her the chance to stand on her own,_ his mind whispered in reply. _You only wanted to protect her, and that's not how a relationship really works. You have to protect and be protected._ Lee grimaced at the thought. A strong shinobi didn't let anyone protect him. That was just stupid.

Naruto watched the fuzzy eyebrowed teen solemnly. If he let Lee just sit around and mope like this, he'd just get more and more depressed. Which was very un-Lee-like and rather depressing in itself. What would Konoha be without it's enthusiastic Blue Beast hopping about in green spandex yelling about love and youth like it was a religion? Well . . . The love part might be left out for awhile, but it he still couldn't stand to think of a week where he didn't see (and hear) that sight. He sat up and gave the Jonin a rather rougher than hardy pat on the back, one that even made Lee almost fall off the edge of the bed. "Well then! Let's go!"

Lee righted himself, careful not to jar the waking Minato more than he had to. "Go where?" He asked indignantly. He really didn't want to go anywhere. Especially with someone who was so enthusiastic when he obviously was not at this moment.

"To Ichiraku ramen of course!" Naruto crowed in a rather annoying sing-song voice.

Lee groaned inwardly. The way Naruto ate . . . They'd be there all night. But whether he went with him or not wouldn't matter. After the blonde even thought of ramen, especially ramen from his favorite place, there was no stopping him. And he rather liked to down almost as much sake as ramen these days too. Which meant he'd be up at ungodly hours, and probably forget that he had a child to look after. Which was where Lee came in.

He couldn't just baby-sit, oh no. Naruto had even taken a years "maternity leave" from his ninja duties to care for the baby. And he never let the squirt out of his sight either. The one time that Kiba had jokingly hid the child form Naruto had been a disaster. Naruto had practically destroyed the village looking for him, literally on the verge of tears, his nine tail chakra going every which way around him. Kiba had learned his lesson, but Naruto had become even more overprotective than he had before. He probably would have decided on permanent retirement at that point if it weren't for his dream of being Hokage.

"So, you're coming . . . Right?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at him enthusiastically. "Right? Riiiiiighhhhttt???"

Lee sighed deeply and stood up, "fine. But you're paying."

Naruto scooped up the baby from Lee's arms and grinned, "of course! What kinda friend would I be if I didn't pay for my bummed out buddy!"

After Lee fixed the baby-backpack into a more recognizable, and safer, shape than it had previously been, they made their way to the ramen stand. Minato was fully awake again by this time and was gurgling happily as Naruto pointedly bounced down the street, singing some ridiculous techno sounding song.

"Woah-woah bah-dee-dah dum-dum baby! Woah-woah bah-dee-dah dum-dum baby! I'll never, I'll never, I'll never let you go . . ."

Lee poked the blonde in the side as they approached the ramen stand. "Stop that. You're making a fool of yourself. Do you know how late it is?" _Stupid question_, Lee thought. _I don't even know what time it is . . ._

Naruto glanced at his watch pointedly, before turning a very smug look at Lee. "Oh yes . . . It is soooooooo late! I can't believe it's already seven-thirty! Whatever will I do?"

Minato laughed and gurgled happily as if he understood the sarcastic remark.

Uncharacteristically, Lee's eyes narrowed at his friend, and he ducked underneath the cloth hangings and into the ramen shop. As he did so, he thanked the stars that there was no one else at the stand tonight. Naruto's loud voice would have the whole village talking by tomorrow night about Lee and Sakura. And it was best to delay that until tomorrow night as well, since it was unavoidable. Naruto might blab to any random shinobi within earshot while drunk.

They sat down, Naruto turning one of the stools into a highchair for Minato, and then promptly ordering ramen for the two of them without even asking what Lee wanted.

"Naruto . . ." Lee protested, a little annoyed, "I can order for myself . . ."

"Right!" Naruto slapped Lee on the back enthusiastically, "but it's one me, so I pick your first bowl tebayo!"

Lee raised one of his characteristic eyebrows at him at this logic. Naruto ignored his friend and ordered a few different bottles of sake, apparently planning on "sampling" some new kinds.

"You have a child Naruto," Lee chided as Naruto sipped at one of the bottles.

Naruto glanced at him with narrowed eyes, "god, Lee. You make it sound like I'm pregnant. I'm not giving Minato any."

The Jonin sighed, "that's not what I meant . . ."

The blond smiled, "I know," he paused to inhale half a bowl of ramen as it arrived, "but now that I'm older I understand why Jiraiah and Kakashi liked this shit so much." He twirled the already half empty bottle around on the table, "it helps you . . . Forget . . ."

Lee eyed the spinning bottle a little disapprovingly. He'd never really liked the stuff, it tasted completely awful. And it did funny things to Lee's head. And he could never remember what the hell he'd been doing for the last few hours after he drank any. Forget, huh?

Rock Lee needed to forget, forget this entire day. Pretend it never happened just for a little while, and remember a little later instead. Yeah, that sounded nice. To just forget his rejection for a few hours . . .

Without even really thinking about it properly, Lee reached out and snatched the bottle from Naruto and downed a humongous swig before placing it on the table again.

The blonde stared at him, dumbfounded. "Oh . . . Shit! Leeeeee!!!" Naruto waved his arms around wildly, "Lee! What did you do!?!?!"

"Drank shum sake . . ." Lee hiccupped cheerfully, ginning at Naruto with glazed eyes.

Naruto drew in a shaky breath. This was bad. Very, very, veeeeerrryyy, bad. Lee hated sake, so Naruto never had to worry about the spandex wearing shinobi stealing it from him before. "um . . . Lee?" _Please stay sane, please stay sane . . . _

Lee whipped the bottle up to his mouth again before Naruto could stop him. "Thish ish gooooood stuffs!" Lee said happily, as he finished off the bottle. "Maybe I should drink dish more oftenesh!"

"No you shouldn't," Naruto said squeaked, "that would be bad. Alcohol is bad for you Lee, remember?"

"Nonshensh!" Lee exclaimed, standing up suddenly, and overturning his untouched bowl of ramen. "I need to drink it alla time!" He turned and headed out of the ramen stand a little wobbly.

Naruto slapped a few bills down on the counter and scooped up Minato in one swift motion. "Lee! Where do you think you're going?" He put the baby into the backpack and hurried after the staggering Jonin.

Lee looked up at the starry sky as if pondering the question. Then, he raised a finger to that same sky defiantly, "to Sakura-san's house!"

The blonde groaned and put his head in his hands, "Leeee . . . You are really going to regret it in the morning if you do . . ." He grabbed the teen by the arm and hauled him backwards, "Listen Lee, you're not yourself right now, don't do anything stupid-"

"Snot stupid," Lee whined, pulling his arm away from Naruto, making his companion fall on his butt from the force of the action.

"Snot stupid?" Naruto muttered to himself. He turned blue eyes to Lee, deciding to take a different course of action. "Well . . . Maybe Sakura doesn't want to see you right now buddy . . ."

Lee's eyes narrowed, "Shut up. I'm going to go shee her whether she likesh it or not!" With that he turned and stomped off in the general direction of the pink haired girl's house.

Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Shit . . ." He stood up and followed Lee from what he assumed was a safe distance for the moment. The shinobi in question seemed to have forgotten the original plan and was poking a wall with a very serious look on his face.

"Shtop makin fun of my eyebrowsh you fat-head," Lee said groggily. He gave the wall a rather hard poke and Naruto could only watch as it crumbled to dust.

Naruto gulped, _Oh Buddha and all that, I've created a monster! _he hurried after the Jonin again as he made his way over to another wall. Apparently this one had offended him too. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered as he watched the Blue Beast destroy a third wall. Pretty soon the whole village would wake up from the noise of their buildings being turned to rubble.

The blonde crossed his fingers in his most commonly used hand sign. "You asked for this Lee. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Lee looked up at the smoke surrounding him as the puffs materialized into copies of Naruto. "Ohh! So you wanna fight?"

Naruto raised his hands in a "woah, woah" gesture, "No, we just want you to-"

"Okay! I accept your challenge!" Lee staggered rapidly around the ring the clones had created and jumped up into a rapid burst of a surprisingly successful Leaf Hurricane.

The blonde groaned as half his clone population poofed out of existence. This was not going to end well . . .

Lee laughed and bounced up onto the roof of a nearby building, "I am a most sssppleeeeeennnddiiiiiidd Shinobiiii!!!" he called, "Gai-sensei! Look at meeeeeee!!!!"

"I wish he wasn't away on a fricken mission so he could!" Naruto snapped form the ground.

The dark haired teen glanced at him lazily. "Naruto, you're it."

"Eh?" Before the blonde could question Lee as to what the hell that meant, the Jonin had taken off across the rooftops at high speed. Naruto stared after him dumbfounded. Finally, he raised a hand to his hair and pulled at it in frustration, "aarrggghhh!!! Lee!" He jumped up onto the rooftops to follow, Minato gurgling happily at this fun and exciting new game.

He wasn't that hard to follow, when he left a wake of smashed objects and buildings in his wake. Naruto followed the trail, trying to decide if he really wanted to catch up to the fuzzy browed drunk. He could just pretend that he had nothing to do with it when they found the mess in the morning. Oh wait . . . The owner of Ichiraku ramen had seen them together. A witness. Crap.

The blonde crouched on top of one of the still intact roofs of the area and peered down at where Lee was staring up at the monumental Hokage figures on the cliff face.

"What are you lookin at?" Lee said groggily, "Don't yoush know itsh not nicesh to shtare?" He pointed a finger at the five heads defiantly, "I shaid shtop it!" He leapt up onto the roofs again and headed towards the monument at full speed.

Naruto cussed under his breath and headed after him at an increased pace. Painting the monument was one thing, but reducing it to ruble was another. He skidded to a halt a few yards away from the Jonin. The later was staring up at the heads and shouting at them about manners.

"Umm . . . Lee? Let's just go home for today, okay?" Naruto said weakly, "You can get them in the morning for their rudeness, okay?"

Lee's head swiveled around and he glared at Naruto with half lidded eyes, "No. Justishe must be dealt out here and now!" He slapped a hand to the lower cliff in demonstration, which left a sizeable dent in the rock.

Before Naruto could stop him, he'd leapt up into the air, spinning into a kick aimed right for the stone Tsunade's face. Naruto covered his eyes with his hands. _I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead . . . _

But the sound of crumbling rock never came. Instead, Naruto heard a rather familiar gritty hissing sound, followed by a rather surprised yelp from Lee.

Naruto peeked open his eyes from between his hands slowly. Lee was suspended in midair, caught around the waist by thick loop of sand. The blonde's head whipped around to see the Blue Beast's captor standing a few feet to his right. He had blazing dark red hair and bore a red mark of the character "Ai" on the left side of his forehead. He was dressed in the white robe over his usual cloths, typical garb of the Kazekage.

Suboku no Gaara glanced over at the blonde with his regular stoic expression. "What's all this about?"

Naruto sighed deeply in relief. "Thanks a million Gaara. You showed up a the perfect time." He waved a hand to where Lee was struggling in the sand's grip above them. "In case you can't guess, Lee had a rough day and got . . . Well . . . Stone drunk."

Gaara looked between Lee, who was slapping the sand repeatedly as if it would have any effect, and back to Naruto. "Is that so."

"Yup. Could you do me a favor?" He didn't even flinch as Gaara shot him glare at the notion, "can you just hang onto him until he passes out? Otherwise he'll destroy the whole village." At that moment, Lee complied to this, and slumped limply in the sand's grip.

Naruto ginned, "woohoo! Now help me get him back to his house!" He once again ignored the glare Gaara directed at him, and led the way back through the decimated left side of the village.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

First chapter, out! Yay! I've wanted to write a really long, serious, Naruto fic for quite some time. And so after seeing "Seventeen Again" for the seconed time, I got inspiration! Inspiration form the word "divorce". Weird. But I can already see how the whole series is going to end from a mile away. And this fic will explain that as it plays out. But it's written in the event that that does happen, in which case all the Yaoi fan girls will bang their heads against the table in exasperation. So this is like, after the predicted ending. Two years after to be precise. There will be more chapters to follow, so keep reading dattebayo!

Whoa . . . This is seven pages . . . Anywho, the song Naruto was singing in case anyone wants to know is "Close My Eyes" by Astroline.

Chapter Theme Song: My Happy Ending - Avril Lavine

"You were all the things I thought I knew. And I thought we could be . . ."


	2. Chapter 2

Love Rebound: Unexpected Company

**Lee awoke to a pounding head. He rolled over in his bed without opening his eyes and groaned audibly. The last thing he remembered was taking a rather large swig of Naruto's sake. That had been a stupid, stupid idea. Slowly, he peeked open an eye only to have harsh midmorning light glare at him. That didn't help his head one bit. In fact, the increased throbbing in his temples was begging to make him feel nauseous. He sat up, cupping his head in his hands, willing the curtains over his glass back door to close by themselves.**

**And remarkably, they did. Lee looked up to see a pair of emerald green, black ringed eyes staring down at him beneath a mop of dark red hair. He jumped and fell backwards over the far edge of the bed. He must be dreaming, or having a nightmare. Either or, it didn't matter. This person had flitted in and out of both inside Lee's subconscious for the past six years. **

**Lee looked up from his position of entanglement in his sheets on the ground at Gaara. The Kazekage was staring down at him, still wearing the same stoic expression he always bore. But something in his eyes made Lee flinch, and realize his mistake in reacting so badly. "Err . . . Sorry Kazekage-sama. You just startled me. What are you doing in my house?" Lee raised a hand to his ear at the sound of his own voice echoing through his head.**

**Gaara of the Sand looked at Lee blankly. "Naruto insisted I stay for breakfast."**

**Lee sighed in relief and pushed all of his previous conclusions to the "fantasy" side of the mental line and locked them in a vault to be sealed away forever. Then he made a mental note to kill Naruto sometime in the near future. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened last night, would you?" **_**Like why you're here in the first place, or how I got back to my house?**_

**The Sand shinobi eyed Lee for a moment, "Naruto said not to tell you . . ."**

**The Leaf waved a hand dismissively, "ignore what he said."**

**Gaara walked around and sat down on the edge of Lee's bed, "you got drunk and demolished a good portion of the village," he said bluntly. "Then you tried to put a hole right through the Hokage monument and I stopped you."**

**Lee groaned and sat up, leaning his head into his hands. "Great. I guess I'll have to go clean that up then . . ."**

"**It's already taken care of," Gaara cut in.**

**The Blue Beast of Konoha looked up from his hands at him, a blank look on his face. "It . . . Wah?"**

"**Naruto and I cleaned it up after you passed out. Naruto said it was so the Hokage wouldn't get on his case with another lecture when she found out."**

**Lee stared at him, not really comprehending the notion. Gaara. Gaara of the Sand, the Kazekage of Sunagankure, had helped him? No way. Someone was playing a very mean, and weird, trick on him. That was it. Lee stared at the redhead, contemplating whether or not it was Naruto using a transformation jutsu.**

**Except that it couldn't be, since the shinobi in question suddenly burst into the room, yelling, "Yay! Breakfast is ready guys!" in a volume that made Lee's ears ring.**

**Naruto ran into the room and crouched down beside Lee. "Gooooood morning!" He shouted in the Jonin's ear. He laughed as he watched Lee roll over and cover his head with his arms. "You gave us quite a bit of trouble last night buddy. So I think I'm in my right to punish you with your hangover. Neh?" He poked Lee in the side, "so how about some eggs?"**

**Lee's face turned as green as his spandex and the blonde jumped out of the way as the Jonin rushed to the bathroom. After the door slammed shut, he turned and grinned at Gaara, "anywho, let's eat."**

**When Lee staggered out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, he had to admit that he felt much better than he had a few minutes ago. He walked slowly into the kitchen, despising the fact that Naruto had every light in the room on. He pulled up a chair on the farthest side of the table from the blonde, and his loudly shrieking son. A chair which happened to be right next to the Kazekage of the sand.**

**Gaara was currently prodding at his eggs, taking every few moments to glare at Naruto from across the table. "Naruto . . ."**

**Naruto smirked at his friend, and scooped the laughing and screeching Minato out of the highchair, plopping him down in the Kazekage's lap.**

**This was one of the moments that Lee wished he had a camera. The look on Gaara's face as the baby was placed unceremoniously in his lap was absolutely priceless. He just sat there, the black circles around his emerald eyes widening by the second, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. **

**Lee leaned back in his chair and watched the expression change to a more puzzled one as the baby began to climb up farther in the Sand shinobi's lap to get more comfortable. Gaara still stared at the child, as if he couldn't figure something out. Lee smiled slightly, answering at least part of the redhead's unspoken question. "I think he likes you."**

**Gaara looked up at him, and then over at Naruto, who was grinning broadly in response. It was a strange feeling for the Kazekage, who had experienced, even in his own village, his people's reluctance or refusal to let their children anywhere near their leader. He had their respect, but he knew he could never hold their complete trust. And yet these people, of a completely different village, were trusting him completely with the care of probably the most valuable child in the entire Land Of Fire.**

**The redhead reached down a hand and gently ran it through the child's hair. This was the first real time he had actually held a baby. His eyes returned up to where Lee and Naruto had turned their attention elsewhere, discussing more than likely last night's events. He couldn't understand it. Why did they trust him so much? Naruto had forcibly had to stop him form destroying Konoha. And Lee . . . Gaara tried not to think about what he'd done to Lee as much as he could. Most of the people he'd hurt in the past were all dead, and thus, easier to ignore. Except Lee. The haunting reminder of the Kazekage's old self.**

**Naruto shoved a can of half empty mushed carrots across the table towards Gaara, an apparent indicator that the Kazekage could feed the baby. He then turned his attention back to Lee. **

"**Lee, what you need is to forget about Sakura for awhile. Go do something spontaneous and weird." He didn't add the fact that most of what Lee usually did was spontaneous and weird. But he was referring to something the spandex wearing shinobi would think was weird. Not something Naruto thought was weird. Maybe something that Naruto thought was normal however . . .**

**The blonde turned a sly grin towards Lee, and then swiveled it around to Gaara. "Heeeeeyyyy! Lee! How about you show the honorable 'Kazekage'" he said this very sarcastically, "around the town today!"**

**Lee's eyes widened even rounder than usual at this, and Naruto did an inner, **_**yeahah! **_**fist bump with himself.**

"**I really don't think-" Lee started to protest.**

"**I don't have anything better to do," Gaara said suddenly, not looking up from where he was wiping up some carrots Minato had spit at him from his shirt. "My meeting with the Hokage and the Daimyo isn't until tomorrow."**

**The inner Naruto skipped around at this news. His plans were unfurling even better than he had hoped for! "Great! Well then, Lee. I leave Gaara in your capable hands for the day!" He gave Lee the Jonin's favorite thumbs up sign, and turned his attention to Gaara. "And don't let him get a hold of any alcohol, no matter what he tells you tebayo!"**

**Gaara nodded as if he had actually understood any of the nonsense that had spewed from the blonde's mouth. But he was much more focused on trying to get the rather stubborn Minato to eat some of the carrots without spitting them right back out.**

"**And what will you be doing today Naruto?" Lee asked, mostly in an attempt to divert the blonde's attention away from his stupid ideas for awhile.**

**Naruto shrugged and grinned, "oh, this and that. Minato is due for his checkup later this afternoon, and I have some errands to run." As if to demonstrate that that this was in fact true, he began to pack up the diaper bag that lay on the floor, and took the carrots back from Gaara, screwing the lid on tightly. The Kazekage helped the blonde strap Minato into the baby backpack and then Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.**

**Lee groaned inwardly. He really, really didn't want to go out today. He'd rather lie in bed, moping. Or maybe train a little in his weight room to work off his depression. The chances of him seeing Sakura grew if he stepped outside of the house. And he didn't really want to see her again for at least a week. Actually, the rest of his life seemed like a better amount of time. Yes, he would stay inside for the rest of his life, that was the plan. Not.**

**His eyes worked their way over to Gaara, who was looking at him with a very intent expression. A very intent, bored, expression. He looked like he actually did want to be shown around the village, though Lee knew very well that he'd seen it, like, a **_**billion**_** times already. And what could Lee, of all people possibly show him that the fricken **_**Kazekage**_** would find interesting. Then again . . . It didn't seem like Gaara found anything interesting. That really made Lee feel helpless. **

"**Alright then. Shall we go?" He said, trying to sound cheerful.**

**Gaara glanced at him, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he could detect the fakeness of the Jonin's smile. "Fine." He pulled on his flowing white Kazekage robe and headed towards the door, Lee trailing rather nervously in his wake.**

**As they headed out onto the already busy streets of Konhagankure, Lee worried again about what he could possibly show the Kazekage that might be interesting to him. What did Gaara even like? **_**Let's see . . .**_** Lee thought. **_**He likes sand . . . And um . . . Sand?**_** Lee mentally filed that thought away in the "stupid things to think about" box and ignored it.**

**Maybe he should just show the Kazekage around like he would any other normal person. Lee glanced at Gaara, who was now looking up at the sky with his usual stoic expression. Had anyone ever treated Gaara like a normal person before? He flinched inwardly, remembering the words the Sand shinobi had spoken to Naruto and Shikamaru when he'd thought Lee was asleep. No, no one had ever treated Suboku no Gaara like a normal person.**

**Maybe now would be the time to change that. Lee grinned, finally cheering up a little at the thought that maybe **_**he**_** would be the first to do such a thing. "Well then, let's be off!" He spun around in a youthful twirl and grabbed Gaara's hand before waltzing off into the center of Konoha. **

**The first thing Lee did was point out the Hokage monument from their vantage point in the middle of the city. "Those are the heads of all our Hokage leading up to today! There's, ummmmmm . . ." Lee waved a hand dismissively at the first two stone heads. Brains and memorizing stuff was never his thing. That's what Neji was for. "First Hokage and Second Hokage," he concluded. "And then there's Sarutobi, and Minato, and Tsunade-sama!" He glanced at Gaara and saw that the Suna nin was actually looking at the statue instead of glaring at him for once. Lee grinned, "and as you can remember, better than I can in fact. I tried to kick the crap out of them last night."**

**Gaara of the Sand looked over at Lee, a slightly amused expression hidden in his eyes, though his face kept up it's usual appearance of "touch me and die". It was an expression Lee was sure only a few people could have picked out.**

**He led Gaara through the town again, pointing out various things on the way. "That's the Hokage's office, and there's Ichiraku ramen over there. And that's Gai-sensei's favorite curry restaurant. And over there is where Kiba's family lives. And there's the training grounds and . . ."**

**Lee pulled up short, having half a mind to turn around and hightail it back home at that very moment, but that was not very shinobi like, was it. Before him stood a girl with short pink hair, dressed in a casual red pair of shorts and a top that only came halfway down her stomach. She was leaning down over a bunch of fresh fish in the middle of the marketplace and talking with the stand's owner about their prices cheerfully.**

**Rock Lee backed up slightly, only to bump into Gaara, who was still standing behind him. The Sand shinobi looked up at the taller man, slight concern on his face. "Lee? What's-"**

"**Hey there Lee!" The girl caught sight of him and waved brightly at him, "how are you today?"**

"**Fine, thank you, Sakura-san," Lee whispered. This was the reason he didn't want to come out. Now he remembered. Damn it all. And she didn't even look sad, or regretful at all. Lee fisted his left hand into the side of his spandex to keep it from shaking. Had it really only been him who had harbored any feelings during their relationship? It certainly seemed that way right now.**

**Suddenly, he felt strong fingers untangling his hand from where it was clenched into the green cloth. He looked over and saw Gaara finish the task and begin to drag Lee away. **

"**Sorry, we were in a hurry," the Kazekage said over his shoulder to Sakura as he walked away, tightening his grip on Lee's hand.**

**Lee let himself be dragged along, feeling very dazed and confused. His eyes roamed up to the Sand shinobi, trying to focus on what exactly had just happened. "Um, thank you Gaara-sama . . ." he said finally.**

"**It looked like an uncomfortable situation," Gaara said simply. He glanced back at Lee, not loosening his finger's from the Jonin's wrist. "And you were . . . Scared. Why were you scared of her?"**

**The dark haired boy chuckled sorrowfully, "not **_**of **_**her. Of us." He pulled the Kazekage to a stop and leaned against the red railing bordering the bridge they now stood on. "You see, until yesterday, we were in a relationship, see?"**

**The way Gaara stared at him, Lee understood that he did not see.**

"**Errrr . . . How to put it . . . We liked each other. We were going out. And then I asked her to marry me . . ." he waved a hand airily as though warding off a bad omen. "But she turned me down. She didn't love me as much as I loved her," he sighed.**

**Gaara looked up at him, and then looked out over the steaming water beneath the bridge. "I don't . . . understand things like 'love' . . ."**

**Lee glanced at the other shinobi sadly. He reached up a hand and ran it through the mop of red hair, "I'm not sure I do anymore either . . ." He sighed and leaned back until he was looking at the sky and the scenery behind him. "Oh. It's the bathhouse. . ." he stared at it a moment, "I haven't had a good bath in awhile . . . That sounds nice . . ."**

**He stood up straight and stretched, "alrighty then! To the bathhouse it is!" he pointed at the red roofed building commandingly.**

"**Umm, Lee . . ." Gaara started. But Rock Lee was off in his own little world already, and he dragged the Kazekage behind him as he charged into the bathhouse at high speed.**

**A few minutes later, Lee was already in the process of dumping a pan of cold water over himself. He glanced up as the door to the bath creaked open. At this time in the afternoon, they had the bathhouse literally to themselves. Lee could hear a couple of old ladies on the other side, but that was it. From the slight opening now revealed between the door and the wall, Gaara's mop of red hair poked out, followed by the top half of his body.**

"**Come on Kazekage-sama!" Lee called, making his words echo around the tiles of the bath. **

**Gaara glared at him from across the room and slowly made his way out of the changing area. Lee ignored this, since it was becoming a habit of the Kazekage's directed only at Naruto or him. Instead, the Jonin focused on trying not to stare. **_**Mental note to self, work that into my training, because staring is rude. Especially staring at naked people.**_** His eyes trailed down the pale almond hued skin to the white towel around the shorter boy's waist. **_**I mean, almost naked. **_**Lee gave himself a mental slap for that one, and the placed the thought in the "stupid things to think about" box and proceeded to toss it into the "do not go there" vault.**

**To give it the extra measure of staying there, Lee dumped another pan of freezing water over his head. He stood up, shaking the droplets out of his hair and slipped into the hot springs bath with a sigh. He leaned back and noticed that Gaara was still standing at the side of the bath, a good ten feet away from it in fact.**

"**Get in!" Lee said cheerfully, "the water feels great!"**

**The Sand shinobi edged a little closer to the hot water, before crouching down and glaring at it like it like it was some new form of kekagenkai he'd never faced before. "I . . . Really don't like the water, Lee," he said quietly. He blinked as Lee gave him a blank stare. "I can't use the sand shield if I'm in the water . . ." he explained, "or the sand armor either."**

"**So . . . You don't take baths then?" Lee asked quizzically, "or even showers?"**

"**Not really," Gaara shrugged, "Temari and Kankuro teamed up and shot me with a hose the other day though. They called that a bath." He grimaced at the memory.**

**Lee snorted and did his best to hold back his laughter at the mental image that popped into his head. The elder two Sand siblings had probably run like hell after that. He turned his attention back to Gaara, "so, you feel vulnerable in the water?"**

"**Yes."**

**The Blue Beast of Konoha smiled warmly at the Kazekage, "but I'm here, so you shouldn't, right?" He raised a fist into the air, "If I can punch through your sand barrier, I think I can be your body guard for an hour while you take a proper bath, yosh?" He turned around and leaned on the edge of the bath, holding out a hand towards Gaara.**

**The Suna nin stared at the offered hand for a moment before Lee noticed the sand slowly falling away from the other's skin. Gaara let Lee grab his hand and drag him into the bath. "See? It's nice, huh? And I'm here to protect you, so it's okay, neh?"**

**Gaara of the Sand didn't look at him, he was preoccupied with swishing his hands through the water absentmindedly. "It is nice," he said finally. He glanced at the Leaf Jonin out of the corner of his black rimmed eyes, "but that doesn't mean I want to do it all the time," he said warningly. It was a "don't you dare tell my siblings I did this willingly" tone of voice.**

"**Right," Lee laughed, "only when I'm here to protect you, got it."**

**The Sand shinobi returned to messing around with the water. He scooped some up with his hands and let it slowly drizzle out from between his fingers. "Do you know, Lee, what it is that keeps the desert alive?" He didn't wait for the man's reply, scooping up another handful of water and watching it fall back into the bath. "It's water. In order for there to be life in the desert, there must always be water. Otherwise the desert is just a barren place of death." He ran his fingers across the surface of the hot water, making little waves. "I used to think that it was blood. That if the desert soaked up enough blood, it could prove that it was alive." His eyes trailed absently over to Lee's left arm. "I was wrong . . ."**

"**Have you found it yet?" Lee asked, pretending not to notice where the Sand shinobi's eyes were focused, "Have you found the water for the desert yet?"**

"**I've found a little," Gaara said quietly, "a few drops here and there. Small sprinkles of rain. But it doesn't seem like enough yet. Like it's still too dry, there isn't enough life, even after all this time."**

**Lee smiled, leaning back in the water farther, "You will. Don't worry about it too much. If you look for it, it'll be even harder to find. If you wait around, it'll find you. A great big thunderstorm to pour down on the desert forever and ever."**

**RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE**

**Second chapter! *waves mental 'yay' flag* I hope everyone likes the story so far. And try not to think that it's just a bunch of randomness at the moment, cause it's not, believe me. Next chapter, you'll get to see what Naruto was doing all this time. As well as a good look at what happened two years before.**

**Also, Gaara's rather obvious metaphor at the end was one I used in my Doujinshi that's going to be out soon. *Thumbs up***

**Chapter Theme Song: ****geeze . . . That's a hard one. ****Forever Yours - Sunrise Avenue**

**Cause we're still in Lee emo mode here.**

"**I will find something more, someone I can live for. Shame on you baby, forever**

**yours . . ." **


	3. Chapter 3

Love Rebound: Memorial Of The Fallen

**Naruto glanced up at the windows of Lee's apartment as he reappeared on the streets below. "Well, I think that went rather well. Right Minato?" The baby made a happy little noise at hearing his name. The blond grinned and began to walk down the street, "ah, I love playing matchmaker."**

**His walk turned into a skip to make the baby backpack bounce, Minato laughing at the movement. Naruto could still remember the day that the child had first laughed. He had been so relieved, that his child would be able to laugh, a real, honest laugh. Not like his father. Naruto spun around in the center of the street, relishing in the sound of the little boy's excited squeaks and giggles. "Get 'em while you can today Minato. You have a doctors appointment!"**

**Minato continued laughing as though nothing had been said at all. "Oh, so you like doctors appointments?" Naruto said lightly, continuing his spinning path down the street without missing a step. "A little too early to be a masochist don't you think? Naughty naughty!" He slowed his steps as they neared the hospital, stopping just outside the wide, white double doors.**

**The baby grew quiet as they stopped, and Naruto pointed a sarcastic finger at the building. "There it is! The place of doooooooom!" Minato laughed. "Oh, ha ha," Naruto mocked, "you have to get a shot today, so stop laughing." Minato laughed again, Naruto sighed, and marched into the hospital like it was some kind of prison.**

"**Good morning Uzumaki-sama!" The receptionist called as Naruto passed. The blonde almost had to look around to see who the woman was talking to. He nodded to her, and sat down to take Minato out of the baby backpack.**

"**Did you here that kid? She called you Uzumaki-sama!" He joked as he folded the backpack into the diaper bag and carried Minato back into one of the examining rooms. He pushed open the door, and waved a hand, "hey granny!"**

"**Naruto! You're late!" Tsunade screeched. She scooped up the baby from Naruto's arms, and placed him on the counter. "The appointed time was half an hour ago!" **

"**Sorry," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand nervously. "I had some matchmaking to do this morning. And I was up kinda late."**

"**Cleaning up after Lee you mean?" The Godaime snapped.**

**Naruto flinched and backed himself against the wall, "eeeerrrrrr . . ."**

"**At least you're responsible," she sighed. She finished stripping the baby down and was pressing gently on his chest and stomach. "Wait ah . . . When you said matchmaking . . ."**

**Naruto waved a hand dismissively, "you probably already heard, but Lee broke up with Sakura. Or . . . More like she broke up with him. Turned him down when he proposed."**

"**I heard," Tsunade confirmed, "so you set him up already? That's a little . . . Harsh. And premature." **_**As well as immature**_**, she thought.**

"**I did," Naruto said cheerfully, "but he doesn't know it! And neither does the other person either! Score!" He fist pumped the air in demonstration.**

"**Oh? And who is this other person?" She turned suspicious gold eyes towards him.**

**Naruto looked away, "that's a secret. Upon pain of death."**

"**Pain of death if I find out who it is," Tsunade said with a glare.**

**The blonde waved his hands in a "no, no, no," gesture. "Anyways . . . Why'd the lady up front call me 'Uzumaki-sama'? That kinda freaked me out."**

**Tsunade turned a sly smile towards the Leaf shinobi, "oh, that. Well, my goal for today was to go around the village and personally tell everyone who my successor was going to be when I retire next year. So I started here."**

**Naruto stared at her, uncomprehending. "Uh . . . Successor? Who's that?"**

**She continued her inspection of the baby, raising a stethoscope to his chest. The baby made a "whoo" noise as the cold metal touched him, and she smiled. "Well, I need someone to take over for me as Hokage soon. And I've been telling everyone I've seen so far that I've chosen a young man by the name of Naruto Uzumaki."**

"**As the next Hokage." **

"**As the next Hokage," She confirmed.**

**The Blonde leaned against the wall, trying not to fall down. His hand pinched his leg just to confirm he wasn't dreaming. "H-Hokage? You mean me, right?" His breathing wasn't doing so good. **_**Deep breaths, deep breaths, deeeeeeeep breaths!**_

"**Well, unless you're name isn't Naruto Uzumaki, I guess I do," Tsunade laughed, not looking up from where she was now prepping a needle.**

**The wall didn't do Naruto any good as a support system, and he sank down to the floor on his knees. "Tsunade . . . I'm . . . not worthy . . . I know I always said I was, but I'm not!" His fist clenched in his cloth of his black t-shirt above his chest. "I've done so many terrible things. I have a fucking demon inside of me! And I killed-" He gulped down a huge breath of air.**

"**I'm not reconsidering. And the elders have agreed that I've made a wise choice," Tsunade said smoothly, as she injected Minato with an immunization so swiftly that the baby didn't even have time to cry. "You're the only one this village needs, Naruto."**

**Naruto stared at her blankly as she handed his son back to him. "And about having a yokai in you, Gaara did too at one point. So why not you?" She ruffled his hair affectionately. "And if Gaara, of all people, can take care of a village successfully, I think an airhead like you can do it even better, right?" She glanced out at the window behind her, and slowly walked towards it.**

"**Oh, there's Sakura. I'll tell her next." Her eyes followed the pink haired kunoichi as she ignored Naruto's gasping for air behind her. "Oh . . . And there's Lee. Oh no. Can you spell 'awkward'?" Her eyes narrowed suddenly, "wait ah . . . Is that Gaara?! As in the Kazekage Gaara!?!?" Naruto's breathing turned to a slightly terrified squeak, reverting into a laugh as he caught sight of what she was looking at outside the window.**

**She whirled on him, "Naruto!" **

**But he merely waved at her and vanished in a puff of smoke. She turned to the window again to see that he had reappeared on the streets below. He glanced up at where she was glaring down at him, and cupped his hands to his face, "thanks a bunch Granny! I'll make you proud!"**

**She smiled, and leaned on the window sill, "Nah, I'm sure you will, Yodaime-sama."**

**Naruto walked down the streets, making sure to keep in the opposite direction of where he'd seen Gaara and Lee run off. He knew he'd get it later form Tsunade for his "matchmaking" skills, but that could wait until later. He spun around in a circle, holding Minato above him. "Did you hear that Minato? Your dad's gonna be the Hokage!" He let his spinning halt and he turned to face the nearby monument. "Hear that dad! I'm gonna be the fricken Hokage! You won't be the youngest one ever anymore! HA!" He twirled around again, Minato laughing as they spun. **

**Hokage. It had always been his dream, hadn't it. But it had been just that, a dream. It had just been something he'd strived for, knowing it was unreachable. And when he'd found out that his father was the legendary Fourth . . . Somehow, it had seemed even more impossible, instead of the opposite. And now he'd done it. It wasn't a dream, and it wasn't a joke either. He was really going to be the Hokage.**

"**HOKAGE!" Naruto yelled jubilantly, and he took off down the street. He'd let Tsunade tell everyone, they'd never believe him at first anyways.**

**The blonde's footsteps slowed as he realized where he was passing by. To his right stood three wooden posts surrounded by the edges of the Hidden Leaf Forest. His smile faltered, and then finally fell completely. He stopped, and walked over to them, running his hands down the middle one. "Nah, Minato. Dad got tied to this when he first became a Genin. Did you know?" He crouched down, biting his lip. "And aunty**

**Sakura . . . And . . . And someone else gave dad some food when he failed his test." He laughed weakly.**

**The baby was quiet as his father spoke, but he pointed over to the blonde's right with a chubby fist. Naruto followed the direction out of the corner of his eyes, flinching inwardly at the sight his son had pointed out. Slowly, he stood up and approached it.**

**It was a giant, smooth rock with a circular base made out of the same material. Naruto kneeled down beside it, and ran his hands across the words on it's front. Starting with his own father's, he began tracing over the names, mouthing the them quietly. "Minato . . . Pervy-sage . . . Yamato . . . K-Kakashi-sensei . . ." he choked on his words for a moment before continuing, speaking the rest with a whispered voice, stopping just before the newest one. **

**He could almost hear it, that sarcastic, teasing voice in his head. "**_**Aren't you going to read it? You're the one who insisted my name be on there. Usuratonkachi."**_

"**Sasuke . . ." Naruto set Minato down on the grass and watched the baby scoot around for a moment before he found his voice again. "Can you see him, Sasuke? That's your kid there." He laughed sadly, "well, our kid. The DNA kept falling apart when we tried the first few times, so we had to bind it with someone else's, it was so unstable. I gave them mine." He glanced at the child, a soft smile on his face, "but he looks like you, nah? Are you happy to know that the Uchiha are still alive? But he has my last name dattebayo. Ha ha ha." He traced the name with his index finger slowly, "I wish you could have been here to hold him with me. To see him laugh for the first time . . ." **

"_**I was there, dobe."**_

"**I know," Naruto whispered, "I know you were there." He rubbed a hand across his eyes, "but it's not fair! Sasuke, it's not fair! You should never have made me choose! How could I choose between you, and the safety of my village?!" He punched the rock angrily, ignoring the stinging pain it left in his knuckles. "Why couldn't you have just come **_**home**_**?" He shook his head, "You shouldn't have fucking left in the first place! Baka-suke!" He lowered his head to his knees, rocking back and forth on his heals. "Baka-suke, Baka-suke . . ."**

**Naruto inhaled deeply, and turned his blue eyes to the gray, engraved surface of the rock again, "I'm going to be Hokage soon, Sasuke. I told you, didn't I?" He smiled weakly, trying to laugh. But he merely hiccupped, as the laughter died in his throat.**

**He didn't notice the sound of footsteps as someone approached him, or the sound of Minato's laugh as that person ruffled his hair before coming to stand behind Naruto. There was silence for a moment, before a hand reached out to the blonde's shoulder. "Naruto . . ."**

**Naruto's head whipped around so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. His eyes met two, pale gray-white ones, framed by a little longer than shoulder length dark brown hair. "N-Neji?"**

**Neji Hyuga was standing over the blonde, his bloodline trait eyes narrowed with concern. Naruto stared up at him in a state of semi-shock, tears welling over the corners of his eyes where he'd been holding them back only moments before. Neji crouched down behind the younger boy, not loosening his grip on the blonde's shoulder "Naruto . . ." He repeated quietly, "what are you . . ."**

"**It's not my fault . . . That he was such a bastard . . ." Naruto whispered, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his father's coat. "I had to . . . Kill him, didn't I? It's not my fault . . ." He turned, his hands clenching into the cloth of the front of Neji's white shirt. "It's not my fault!"**

"**No," the Hyuga whispered, "It's not, not at all." He reached up a hand and ran his fingers through the spiky blonde hair. Naruto leaned into his touch, burying his face against Neji's chest. Neji sighed openly, and continued to run his hand through the blond locks. "It was no one's fault. None but his own. He let his anger get the best of him, and let his grief fuel everything he did." **

"**I know," Naruto whispered, "but then . . . Why does this hurt so bad?" He wrapped his arms tighter around the older boy, clenching his fingers deeper into the cloth. "It hurts. . . So much I can't stand it!"**

"**It will probably always hurt," Neji whispered against Naruto's hair. "Because you lost someone precious to you. Your most precious person. And that feeling will remain, until you've filled that void."**

"**I'm not sure it can be filled," Naruto whispered weakly, "It's a pretty big hole," he chuckled. **

"**But you can try," Neji murmured, smiling slightly, "One shovel full of dirt at a time."**

"**Until we make it shallow enough to be a pool," Naruto whispered. "Because swimming is better than just looking at a filled in grave."**

"**I'm not sure I'd want to swim there."**

"**Then you're not invited."**

**RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE**

**Woooo!!! I bet you didn't see that coming! Wahahaha! Yes, prior warning form here on out, this fic will be focusing mainly on the pairings of NejiNaru and LeeGaa.**

**There will still be lotsa SasuNaru tho too. So don't worry.**

**But yeah, since Sasuke's kinda. . . Dead. I thought that I'd let Neji have Naruto. Mostly because that's a secret favorite pairing of mine. If Sasuke didn't make Naruto so damn happy, I'd have shipped NejiNaru in the front line. But until Sasuke is dead, Neji belongs to me. *insert evil laugh here* I also decided on this pairing because "Straight" and "Naruto" together in the same sentence is an oxymoron. Even if Hinata is one of the few girls I actually like in the show.**

**It'll be more Naruto POV next chapter too. Yosh!**

**Chapter Theme Song: - All These Lives - Daughtry**

"**Shed the light on all the one's we never thought they would be gone . . ."**


	4. Chapter 4

**Love Rebound: Playing Games**

Naruto rolled over beneath his sheets, waking from the sound of Minato's laughter. He blinked his eyes open, feeling a little confused. Hadn't he been in the forest, next to the memorial? But now he was most definitely in his own apartment. The blonde sat up, a bit dazed. The apartment he resided in these days was not the one he had grown up in. Once he had decided to create Minato from his and Sasuke's genes he had saved up all his money and bought a proper, three bedroom, apartment that overlooked the main streets of Konoha.

Slowly, the blonde pulled himself out of bed, and found the alarm clock that he'd thrown on the floor a few days ago. It was about four in the afternoon, not too much later on the same day. That was a relief. If he'd passed out until the next day, he'd be a little bit worried. Oooohh . . . That's right. He'd passed out. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling embarrassed. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, from all that mess he'd had to clean up. And then crying like that . . . That had just done him in.

He edged towards the door, following the sound of his son's laughter. How he had gotten home, he couldn't remember. But he suspected that he rather didn't want to. He pulled open the door and stepped out into the living room.

Neji Hyuga was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the sofa. He had Minato in his lap, and was tickling the boy's toes in what looked oddly enough like "this little piggy". He looked up as the blonde entered the room and gave him a rare, half smile, "You're awake."

Naruto was staring at him, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth half open in a "uuuhhhh . . ." expression. There were multiple questions running through his head, all at the same time._ How did I get home, _was one. Another was, _why are you in my house?_ And the third wasn't even a question. _I need to clean up more . . . This place is a mess! Arrrgghh!_

"What are you doing?" he asked finally, watching Neji stacking up a pile of multicolored blocks so that Minato could knock them all over.

"Playing with the test tube baby," Neji said, giving Naruto another half smile.

"Wha? Meanness and tears!" Naruto exclaimed mockingly, "don't call my precious child a," he looked around as though someone might hear him, and whispered the last three words, "test tube baby." He pointed an accusing finger at the Hyuga, "for all he knows, I gave birth to him."

"Did you?" Neji asked sarcastically.

"Maybe I did!" Naruto huffed, still upholding his joking air.

Neji smiled again, making Naruto think that today set a world record, and nodded, "you're feeling better then?"

The blonde ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed, "errr . . . Yeah. Sorry you had to see that . . ." He mentally hit himself as his memory started to return. "Sorry I was so . . . Clingy. You carried me home after I passed out too, didn't you."

The dark haired boy nodded, "it wasn't a problem, Uzumaki-sama," he said the last part mockingly.

"So you heard!" Naruto said brightly, puffing out his chest, "I'm going to be the next Hokage, isn't that great?"

Neji scooped up Minato from the floor, tucking the baby into the crook of his arm as he stood up and walked towards the blonde. "Very," he said, poking Naruto in the chest hard enough for the younger boy to let out a whoosh of air. "Now, am I allowed to stay for dinner? Or are you just going to have instant ramen by yourself tonight."

Before the blonde could reply, his front door burst open to reveal a shocking burst of bright green as Rock Lee dashed in. His dark hair was dripping wet, and he shook his head to loosen some of the water as he came in. Suboku no Gaara followed closely behind him, though his own hair was covered in a towel.

Lee skidded to a halt and raised a hand in the air like a salute, "it is us! Here to congratulate you on your success, Hokage-sama!"

Naruto raised his hands and waved them about in front of his chest nervously. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not officially the Hokage until next year! And also, even when I do become Hokage, I don't want you going around calling me that. Or adding "sama" to my name either," he turned a glare to Neji, who was still standing beside him. "I mean, we're friends, right? I don't call Gaara "Kazekage-sama" do I?"

"You're the only one who doesn't, because you're arrogant," Neji stated.

"I'm not his Kazekage though," Gaara said from where he was still trying to towel dry his hair by the door. "If you don't live in the Sand, I don't care what you call me."

Lee gave the room his "Good Guy" pose, "very good point Kaz- I mean Gaara!" he turned to Naruto, still maintaining his pose, "we should celebrate!"

"So, three for dinner then?" Neji asked, leaning against the wall.

Naruto nodded slowly, "sure!" Lee jumped up and down excitedly. The blonde turned his gaze to Neji, "you idiot! I don't know how to cook!" He hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

"So what do you make Minato, ramen-boy," Neji asked quizzically.

"He only drinks formula and the occasional mushed vegi out of a jar!" Naruto made a face, "so what now!"

The Hyuga sighed, and suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke as he jutsued out of the room. Lee stared at where he'd been a moment before, "where did he . . ."

"I don't know!" Naruto said, exasperated. _God dammit Neji, you started this dinner shit, you better get back here and finish it!_

Naruto kept his guests occupied for the time being by pulling out his board games. And Lee went through them explaining how each one worked to Gaara, who had apparently never played a board game before.

That's when Naruto noticed it. Neji had been holding Minato when he had left, so that meant . . . "Ah! He took Minato with him!" Naruto shrieked suddenly, standing up from where he'd been looking at the games with his two companions. Just as he was about to rush out the door to go looking for his son and his "kidnapper", Neji reappeared in another puff of smoke.

Naruto stalked over to him angrily, swiping the giggling Minato out of his hands. "What the hell! Don't just leave and take my kid with you, jerk!"

"Calm down," Neji said smoothly, "we just went to get groceries for dinner. We weren't even gone a half hour." He held up his arms, which were laden with plastic shopping bags. "Cause I know you don't have anything but instant crap in your pantry. And absolutely nothing in your fridge." Without waiting for another sarcastic remark from the blonde, he made his way to the kitchen.

Naruto groaned, and plopped Minato down in Gaara's lap before following him, ignoring the Kazekage's little hiss of surprise. "And what are we going to be having for dinner then, oh great and powerful Neji? I can't cook. At all."

"Thanks for the compliment," Neji replied with a smirk, "and I'll be cooking." He grabbed hold of the back of the blonde' shirt as he tried to make a dash for it, "and teaching you at the same time. So you're staying here."

"No fair . . ." Naruto muttered, as Neji dragged him back into the kitchen. "Why just me? What about Lee and Gaara?"

"You don't want to taste Lee's cooking, and Gaara has servants. Meanwhile, you have a child, who will be old enough to want to eat something besides canned peas by the time you're Hokage." He turned the blonde around, tying a light blue apron around him swiftly.

"Where the hell did you get this stupid thing?" Naruto asked, looking down at the words, "Cook," embezzled across the top of the apron.

"In a box by your sink labeled, 'kitchen'," Neji said, "as well as a bunch of pots and pans." He glanced around the room, "I can't even believe you have an oven and stove."

"I'm not a caveman," Naruto hissed.

"Cavemen eat instant ramen too," Neji said, ruffling the blonde's hair, "now, let's get started.

An hour and a half later, the five of them were seated around the table. Minato was sitting in his highchair between Gaara and Lee, smearing mashed squash all over his hands. Neji was across from them, setting out the food. And Naruto was staring at the array they'd whipped up with disdain, covered from head to toe with flour.

"How'd you get so messy?" Lee asked, wiping some squash off of Minato's hands, his eyes on Naruto. "Neji doesn't have a spot on him."

Naruto's head whipped around so that he could glare at the Hyuga boy, but didn't say anything.

"Naruto made the dumplings," Neji explained, setting the plate of said food on the table. "From scratch." He followed the dumplings with a steaming bowl of miso soup, and some yakitori noodles. He then turned his gaze towards the blonde again, "Naruto, sit still." He ran a hand through the white tinted hair and dusted the flour from it. "You can clean up after dinner."

Naruto sighed and began dishing himself up, giving the dumplings an icy glare, before taking one. He at least wanted to eat what he'd made. He turned his attention to Lee, deciding to ignore Neji for awhile. "So what did you two do today?"

"I gave Gaara a tour around the village," Lee said brightly, "and then we went to the bath house."

"Ah, so that explains the wet hair," Naruto said with a grin. He wiggled his eyebrows at Lee. But the Jonin ignored the innuendo that Naruto was implying.

"How was Minato's checkup?"

"Good," Naruto said, stuffing one of the dumplings in his mouth. It tasted pretty good. "Mhhmm! He got a shot though. But Granny Tsunade did it so fast he didn't even cry!"

The rest of the dinner continued on with lighthearted small talk for the remainder of the evening, with few questions that pried into the later half of the blonde's day. Naruto was thankful for that, since he didn't know how well the Hyuga could hold his tongue about the blonde's semi-mental-breakdown.

As Gaara and Lee returned to the living room with Minato, Neji dragged Naruto into the kitchen again to do dishes. The younger boy muttered something about undeserved punishment and being Hokage as he scrubbed one of the pots.

"It's a part of cooking, and you,re not Hokage for almost a year yet," Neji said, " if you don't clean up right after, you get a sink full of dirty dishes." He flicked a bit of soapy water at the teen with a smirk. Naruto growled under his breath and ignored him. The Hyuga leaned back and examined the blonde. He was still absolutely covered in flour, and was now rather wet as well from his lame attempt at doing the dishes. Neji reached out a hand and ran it through the blonde locks absently.

Naruto swiveled around to face him, "cut that out."

Neji ignored him and continued the motion, "neh, Naruto, during dinner, did you really think I would just blurt out what happened this afternoon? You kept glaring at me like you thought I would."

The blonde looked away slightly, "yeah . . . So what."

"That was between me and you," Neji said evenly, "it wasn't any of their business, so I had no reason to say anything." He ran his hand through the shorter boy's hair again, "I'm not the kind of person who goes around blabbing peoples weaknesses and secrets because I find it enjoyable. So don't think of me like that."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "fine. Then stop treating me like a little kid." He shoved the hand out of his hair. "I'm only a year and a half younger than you."

Neji smiled one of his trademark half smiles, "is that what you think I think of you?"

"Yes," Naruto snorted.

Neji shook his head in amusement and soaked a washcloth in the still running warm water over the sink. He raised it up to Naruto's face and began wiping the flour off of the blonde's features. Leaning foreword until his mouth was right beside the blonde's ear, he raised the washrag up to wipe the flour from around his eyes, obscuring Naruto's vision for a moment. "You're wrong," he whispered, before pulling away.

The older boy tossed the rag at the blonde and headed out towards the living room. "Go change and finish up in the bathroom," he called over his shoulder as he left.

Naruto stood there, holding the rag in his hands, feeling stunned. What the hell had just happened? He clenched the cloth in his hands, feeling a blush grow on his newly cleaned face. He hadn't meant it . . . Like _that_ . . . Had he? The blonde shook the feeling off and slipped through the doorway and made his way to the bathroom.

When Naruto emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later, he was still chanting _not like that, not like that, not like that, _over and over in his head.He ran a hand through his hair, checking to make sure he really had gotten all of the tedious white powder out of it. But as he did, his mind flickered backwards to a little while ago, when Neji had done the same thing. He promptly resumed his little mantra and continued on down the hallway.

As he entered the living room, he saw his house guests seated around a brightly colored board game in the center of the room. Naruto recognized it as Chutes And Ladders almost immediately. Gaara was staring at the board intently as he moved his piece across the squares, while Lee encouraged him that he was doing it right. Neji was sprawled on his back across the couch watching Minato, who was sitting on his stomach, trying to eat one of the playing pieces.

"I used to play that all the time when I was little," Naruto said cheerfully as he walked towards them. "Although . . . I kept getting bored with it, playing by myself . . ." he shrugged absently.

"Play with us!" Lee chirped, moving his piece ahead of the Kazekage's by a square, and ignoring the jealous glare the redhead gave the piece. "We need more than two players!"

"Neji's not playing?" Naruto asked, rescuing the piece from Minato's mouth to use as his own.

"No, we could only find three pieces, and he said that you should play instead," Lee handed Naruto the stack of colored cards.

"Did you have a nice shower?" Neji asked, picking up a block and giving it to Minato to chew on before he began to cry over his loss of the game piece.

"I just rinsed off," Naruto said unintentionally quick. How could he have taken a hot shower after the incident in the kitchen? Hot water did funny things to a person's head. And he _really_ didn't need weird fantasies running around his brain where they were usually unwanted.

But at the thought of "weird fantasies", Naruto's brain automatically skipped into that mode. _Shower. Neji. Letting the Hyuga's rough hands roam all over his body. . . _No. Naruto pinched himself into reality. That was a "definitely don't go there" place. That was the biggest thing on the list of "don't go there" places right now. He took the stack of cards from Lee, and realized he must have had a funny look on his face when he'd thought that, because Lee was giving him a concerned one.

The blonde waved his hands in front of his face, still holding the stack of cards, "just zoned out there!" He glanced at Neji, trying not to let the blush creep back onto his face. _Had he noticed?_ But the Hyuga was staring at the ceiling as if there was nothing more interesting in the world. And Naruto couldn't decide if that was a good sign, or a bad one.

They continued on with the game, playing a few good rounds. One of which destroyed a good handful of the cards when the sand attacked the game after Gaara lost. Lee had had to calm the redhead down for a good ten minutes, assuring him that it was part of the game to win some, and loose some. The Kazekage didn't look so convinced.

When Naruto looked at the clock again, he started as he realized that it was already one in the morning. He turned to where Lee was yawning, and Gaara was trying to provoke him into one more round, "I guess everyone's staying here then?"

"That would be nice," Lee said with a tired smile. "Do you have a guest room?"

"Yup!" Naruto said, pointing down the hallway to where it was located, "the one farthest down, without the baby toys." He grinned slyly, "you and Gaara can share it tebayo."

Lee's eyes widened and he looked like he was about to protest, until Gaara stated, "one more game. Then bed."

The Blue beast of Konoha looked over at the Kazekage reprovingly, "Gaara, you have a very important meeting tomorrow. You should get some rest!"

The redhead gave him an icy glare, but nodded. "Tomorrow, can we play then?"

Lee felt his mood soar at this. Gaara was actually having fun! He'd successfully showed the Kazekage a good time in his boring little village! "Sure. If you can stay a bit longer. We can try some other games too," He held up a box to demonstrate, "like Candy Land!"

Gaara made a face at the sound of the name, but complied as Lee shoved him towards the back bedroom to get some "proper rest and sleep so that you wake up youthful".

Suddenly alone in the room, Naruto's eyes fell on Neji. The Jonin was sound asleep from his position on the couch, his arm curled around Minato, who was also asleep. The blonde scootched across the carpet until he was beside the couch. He rested his head in his hands on the cushion where Neji's head was, careful to hide his chakra so as not to wake him.

"It was meant like that . . . I'm not stupid," he whispered. "But I don't

know . . . I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't think that I can feel that way about anyone. At least not . . . At least not ever again . . ." He leaned his head against the Hyuga's shoulder and sighed, "not even for you . . ."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Note to self. Remember to add some LeeGaa next chapter. More like focus on it. I feel like I'm getting caught up in the NejiNaru, which was supposed to be the secondary couple in this fic, but it's turning into the primary, and is likely to stay that way. I like it a lot . . . *laughs nervously* which is bad, cause Lee was what started the fic, and now I'm all off track. GaaLee (LeeGaa, whatev) focus next chapter. Swear. *Points Kunai at self* swear swear swear.

Also . . . I have never played chutes and ladders that I can remember. And I didn't know if you used cards or dice to move. And since little kids games usually use cards, I went with that. Tell me if I'm wrong.

Chapter Theme Song: Everything You Want - VA

"Listen for the echoes of angels that wont return. He's everything you want, everything you need, he's everything inside of you that you wish you could be. He says all the right things, at exactly the right time. And yet he means nothing to you and you don't know why . . ."


	5. Chapter 5

**Love Rebound: Depth Perception**

Lee strode down the street in a fairly good mood. He felt considerably lighter than he had the day before, especially the day before that. He'd pushed his "break up" to the back of his mind for the moment, and was just trying to enjoy the nice summer day. He walked down Konoha's main street, his hands behind his head, and a look on his face like there was nothing he liked better.

"You're back to your old self," a voice remarked smoothly beside him.

The Jonin craned his head in his companion's direction. The speaker was a boy shorter than him with dark red hair and the character "ai" on the left side of his forehead. His emerald green eyes were rimmed with black, and his mouth was curved in a slightly amused smirk, an oddity for him.

"And what do you mean by that, Gaara?" Lee grinned.

"You've been a out of it," Gaara said evenly, "you seem better today." His eyes suddenly darted ahead of them, and he grabbed Lee's arm. "Let's take the longer way around."

Lee looked back over his shoulder before the Kazekage could stop him, and noticed immediately the reason Gaara was acting like this. He turned to smile weakly at his friend, "don't worry about it. I have to face it some day, and the sooner the better, right?" He turned and began to walk down the street again in the same direction as before.

Sakura Haruno continued right towards him, from the place that Gaara had caught sight of her moments before. "Hi there Lee!" She called innocently. This made the Kazekage feel like hitting her with his Sand Coffin. Ridiculous. Even someone like him knew that this was not how you should treat someone you'd just broken up with.

He only paid half attention to what Lee and the stupid girl were saying. Instead, he focused on looking at Lee, reading his movements and sound of his voice for the signs of fear he'd seen before. Gaara's senses were acute at picking up that emotion above all others, but he was becoming used to recognizing other ones as well since he'd become Kazekage. Such as now, the feeling of fear that Lee had exhibited the day before was tamed down more or less to nervousness. This was shown through the occasional shaking in the Jonin's lower legs. He was also thinking that the whole situation was awkward, the twiddling of his fingers and his sideways glances now and then revealed that. And there was sadness. Gaara knew that emotion well, and he noticed it in the slowness, and occasional halt, in Lee's words.

His emerald eyes turned to the Haruno woman, and he felt his anger rise in the fact that she wasn't exhibiting any of these, or anything remotely close. He looked up at Lee and pulled insistently on his arm, "Let's go." Before Lee could protest or make up some excuse to Sakura why he was being dragged away by the Kazekage, Gaara had pulled him a good twenty feet away. When he was sure Lee wasn't looking, he turned a seething glare towards the pink haired Kunoichi, and let a little sand out of the gourd as a warning gesture.

"I wasn't scared this time," Lee whispered quietly as Gaara let go of him and walked a couple paces ahead.

Gaara glanced at the Leaf, trying to quell the anger that had unexpectedly risen in him. "I know," he said finally, "But I don't like her. So I left."

"Don't . . ." Lee couldn't really wrap his thoughts around that.

"She used you when she needed comfort," Gaara stated, "and then dropped you like a used tissue when she realized what she'd done. So I don't like her."

"Because she wasn't nice to me?" Lee asked, feeling a little bemused.

"Yes," Gaara said bluntly. Why did Lee always ask such silly questions? Hadn't that been obvious in what he'd said before? Gaara of the Sand wasn't someone who liked to beat around the bush.

Lee's face grew a little red at this. "Am I . . . your friend?" He flinched at the word. Gaara wasn't the kind of person who had friends, the only one Lee could think of was Naruto. And with a past like he had, he wasn't willing to let people in so easily.

Suboku no Gaara looked the Jonin up and down, contemplating this. Lee didn't seem afraid of him, which had always puzzled him. He thought, that of all living people, Lee should be the most afraid of him. Even if his body didn't contain Shukaku any longer, Lee had more reason than anyone to fear him. But even now, the Leaf shinobi was looking him straight in the eye without even a tinge of fear. Gaara scoffed inwardly, this was one messed up ninja. Scared of a girl, but not of Gaara of the Sand. And yesterday, hadn't yesterday been a bunch of activities that one did with a friend? Playing games, and eating together, showing him around the village . . . Gaara wasn't sure where taking a bath fell in that list, so he filed that away in his brain for contemplation later.

"If that's okay with you," Gaara said finally, watching the Leaf for a reaction.

Rock Lee's tentative smile turned into one of the broadest grins the Sand nin had ever seen. "Of course it's okay!" Lee chirped, throwing his hands into the air, "Why wouldn't it be okay!"

Gaara mentally ticked off more than a handful of reasons, but chose to ignore them. Unconsciously, he let a small smile slip past his usual stoic expression as he spoke, "are you going to continue walking me to my meeting then? Or do you want to continue your speech on the power of youth?"

Lee had in fact been half way through a speech about youth, till he caught sight of the small smile on the Kazekage's features. It was so slight, and so quick, Lee half thought he'd been imagining it. _Now that's something I've never seen before,_ he thought. _And I was the one who made him smile like that, yosh!_ Lee twirled around, "right! Let's keep going again," he called as he led the Sand nin towards the red building of the Hokage's office. Gaara followed, his white noble's robes of Suna flowing around him in what Lee assumed was supposed to look elegant. But the Leaf Jonin thought that on someone of a smaller height like Gaara, they looked rather cute instead.

Immediately, Lee tried to shove that thought into the "do not go there" vault on the "fantasy" side of the mental line. But it stayed exactly in the center of that stupid line, and refused to budge. Lee glanced at the Kazekage again, and decided that it wouldn't be so terrible to let that thought linger awhile longer.

Gaara of the Sand left Lee behind on the stairs leading up to the top in the Hokage's building. As he came into the meeting room, he was rather surprised to see Naruto, whose house they'd just left less than an hour before, leaning back casually in a chair at the main table.

The blonde grinned at him from his position, throwing his legs up on the table as he leaned back even farther. "Heya Gaara! I bet you didn't know that this meeting was about me, did ya!" He shrugged and laughed, "neither did I!"

The Kazekage stared at the boy a moment longer, before deciding to help him out a little. "It's about whether the Daimyo and the Leaf's allied leaders accept the next appointment of leader to this village. And leaning back like that and putting you feet on the table will not impress them by the way." He watched in slight amusement as Naruto whipped his legs back down to the ground and sat up straight in his chair. The redhead immediately picked up on the other detail that he'd noticed. Something that was missing in this scene.

"Where's Minato?" Naruto was never without the child, and it seemed odd that he would be now.

Naruto gave him a reassuring smile, "nah, I left him with Neji at my house tebayo. I didn't think that taking him to something like this would have been suitable, he's rather noisy."

_And yet you thought putting your feet on the table was completely fine,_ Gaara thought sarcastically. "So Neji's still at your place?"

"He was the one that insisted that Minato stay behind," Naruto said disdainfully, "so yeah."

_So he was going to bring the baby._ Gaara shifted his attention to the door as it opened to reveal the Godaime and the Daimyo. "Oh, you're already here Kazekage-sama" Tsunade said cheerfully, "That's good. We can get started then."

Gaara blinked at the formal greeting from the Hokage, who usually just called him, "squirt."

The three of them sat down, and faced Naruto across the table. "Daimyo, Kazekage, this is Naruto," Tsunade indicated the fidgeting, unusually rigid in posture blonde. "He's the one I've chosen to succeed me."

_Obviously,_ Gaara thought sarcastically, but he decided to take the initiative and get his friend into a bit more of a comfort zone. "Well then, Naruto-kun," he tacked the formality on there for the Daimyo's sake, "why do you think you'd make a good leader to this village?"

Naruto looked up at the red head and gave him a grateful smile, "Um . . . Well, it's what I've wanted to do my whole life." He took a breath and decided not to hold anything back. "At first, it was fueled by the desire to have people notice me and respect me, because when I was little, they would only ever look down on me. I found out later that that was because the Fourth Hokage, my father, had sealed the Nine Tailed Fox Demon inside of me. People were afraid of me. But I didn't want them to be. I thought that if I was Hokage, they'd stop being afraid of me."

"After that, I met some people who changed the way I thought. Iruka-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura-chan . . ." his voice faltered briefly, "and Sasuke." He smiled sadly, "nah. And lots of other people too. They gave me a real reason to fight. Because I finally had someone who cared about me . . . And someone to protect . . ." He looked up at the listeners, directing his gaze at Gaara to steady himself. "And after I met Gaara, and we fought at the Chunin exams, I realized that it was the whole village I wanted to protect. Because everyone in it was important, and had a place in this village, even if they believed I didn't." His eyes glazed over a bit, "I feel like I've grow stronger, and I want to think that I can do something like that alone. But I know that I can't, because it takes _everyone's _support and power. The strength of all our shinobi. And I'd like to be the person to lead them."

"I'm not perfect, and I'll never say that I am," He said quietly, "there are things in my life that I regret. As well as many things that I'm so thankful for. Like all of my friends. And my son Minato. And the fact that I knew amazing people. Like Jiraiah-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei. And Sasuke." He looked up at them, "I want to share feelings like that with the whole village."

Gaara studied Naruto with a smirk on his face. No one in the entire Land Of Fire could have said it any better. He really would make an amazing leader.

"Well put," the Daimyo said after a moment, "I think that you chose very wisely, Tsunade-san."

The Sand nin glanced at the old man, remembering his own interview with him. He'd just sat there and given the old fart his infamous death glare until he left. That had been rude, but fun.

"Very well then," Tsunade said, "Gaara, do you also agree with my choice?" the Suna leader merely nodded.

The Hokage proceeded to escort the Daimyo out of the room, before coming back in to glare at Gaara. "That was a risky move you pulled there, squirt." She snapped, "Although it did turn out okay." She turned her deadly golden eyes towards her chosen "pupil". "And you. You better write a proper speech when you're initiated in ten months. Got it? If you wing it, so help me god . . ."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, and leapt across the table to grab the Kazekage, "Right! Well, we've gotta be off Granny!"

Tsunade flicked a finger and the door closed and locked itself before the blonde and his captive could bolt. "One more thing. Gaara is staying in the village until further notice to help you prepare for the duties of being a village leader." She sent the blond another glare, making him let out a little "eep!" of fear. "Because I know you won't listen to me. Make sure he finds proper sleeping quarters, and not at Lee's house," she added warningly, letting the lock unfasten.

"Okay, got it!" Naruto said, pulling Gaara out the door with him, "Let him stay at Lee's house, sounds good!"

The Hokage whipped around to yell at him, but the blonde was already long gone, his laughter echoing off the walls as he zipped down the hallway at top speed.

Naruto stood panting outside the building, his arms still holding a silent Gaara in place. Every other breath came out as a laugh, and he loosened his grip on the redhead as Lee came barreling around the corner.

"Oh, Naruto too!" Lee said with his usual enthusiasm, "how did it go?"

The blonde waved a hand at the spandex wearing Jonin reassuringly, "it was awesome dattebayo! I totally passed that thing!"

_In the same exact way you passed the first round of the Chunin exam, _Gaara thought, _a speech about being Hokage. _He turned his green eyed gaze to Lee. "Apparently, however, I'm going to be staying here in Leaf for awhile longer to help Naruto prepare for his duties as Hokage. And Naruto said I should stay with you."

Lee shot Naruto a glare before smiling broadly at his red headed friend, "That's fine. I have a spare bedroom we can clean out. I was using it as a training area, but you can have it." The Jonin made a mental note to move all of that stuff from that room over to the office, which he never used anyways.

"Are we going back to your place?" Gaara asked, turning his eyes to Naruto.

"Sure! Uh . . . Why?" Naruto looked at him quizzically.

"I was promised a game of 'Candy Land'" Gaara said bluntly.

Lee grinned, "of course!" He ticked off another mental note to call Gai-sensei and have the older Jonin clean the room for him while he entertained Gaara with more board games.

When the three of them returned to Naruto's apartment, they were greeted by a rather exasperated looking Neji, who was holding a crying Minato and rocking him back and forth in failing attempts to calm him. "Nah, Neeejiii," Naruto chided teasingly, "are you having problems?"

Neji glared at him with his pearl hued eyes. "He was perfectly fine until a half hour ago. Now he wont shut up. I changed him, gave him a bottle, sang to him," he ignored Naruto's outburst of laughter at that last one, "and everything I could think of!" He held the baby out towards the blonde pleadingly.

"You have to learn what he wants on your own," Naruto said, ignoring the increased wailings as he pushed his son back into Neji's arms. "Tebayo, try patting his back." he showed the dark haired man how to hold the baby over his shoulder, "go ahead."

The Hyuga did as he was told, and began gently patting the sobbing baby's back. A minute or so later, the crying stopped, and they were rewarded with a burp. "That was _it_?" Neji complained, "that was all that was wrong? Good god. I thought he was dying or something!"

Naruto smirked, leaning forward against Neji's back to touch his nose to Minato's. "Yup. Good job Minato. It's fun to freak Neji out, isn't it."

"I thought we were coming over to play a game," Gaara spoke up suddenly, "not watch some soap-opera-y moment."

Lee snorted back a laugh from where he was standing by the phone, waiting for a quiet moment to call Gai-sensei.

The blonde blushed and shuffled across the floor to the stack of games they'd left out the night before. "Right, Candy Land." He held the game out to the redhead with a glare. "Play it already."

"I think I will," Gaara smirked, motioning for Lee to join him as the Jonin hung up the phone.

Naruto stalked across the room and into the kitchen. He leaned against the sink, trying to steady his breathing to a normal level. But he had the sinking feeling that days like this were about to become a habit between the four of them.

As if to confirm that thought, Neji walked into the room. "Are we making dinner again?"

"Yup!" Naruto replied, giving him a rather false smile. His mind flickered all over the place, coming to rest on the boy in front of him._ I'm not sure I'm ready for this! Oh god, Sasuke . . . What am I supposed to do . . ._

"_Whatever you usually do, dobe. I'm not around to hold your hand anymore."_

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Aaaaahhhh! The NejiNaru fluffiness is invading the fanfic! Nooooooo!!! I seriously intended for the story to focus on Lee, and Naruto and Neji were just gonna be in the background. But Naruto's "shower fantasy" from the previous chapter popped into my head and now it won't leeeeeaaaavvveee! Fbjsabfjsdabfjsbadfjas *headdesk*

So now it's kinda a Lee and Naruto coming slowly out of their past relationships (with Sakura and Sasuke) as parallel figures. God, why'd I have to pick the four hardest characters to write about. Yeesh. At least for Minato, I just have to think "what do babies do?"

Also, when Sasuke talks, it's really Naruto, trying to think of what Sasuke would say.

Ahhhh . . . I think we will have some smut next chapter. Some smut in the shower sounds good, nah? Shall we fulfill that little fantasy? I think so . . .

Chapter Theme Song: Rest In Pieces - Saliva

"Look at me, my depth perception must be off again. You got much closer than I thought you did . . ."


	6. Chapter 6

**Love Rebound: The Sound Of Water**

Gaara of the Sand was currently focused on a white backed stack of cards in the center of the game board. He was only about twenty squares from the end, if he drew the right card, he'd win. He glanced over at where Naruto was sitting to his right with his fingers crossed, a hopeful look in his eyes. Gaara leaned forward, and swiftly drew a card from the top of the pile. He stole a quick glance at it, before flinging it a t the giggling blonde angrily.

"Plumpy again!" Gaara hissed at the blonde as he rolled over on the floor laughing hysterically. "Why do I always get Plumpy!"

Beside Naruto, Lee was holding back his laughter as best as he could, but he was still grinning broadly as he spoke. "G-Gaara . . . You have to move your piece back to the beginning now . . ."

"I know!" the Kazekage snapped, seething mad.

Naruto rolled around still giggling like he was on some kind of drug. "Hoooohh man! That's fricken awesome!" He wiped his eyes, he'd been laughing so hard he'd started crying a bit, "that is so awesome." He flinched as Gaara sent him a death glare, "ah . . . I think I'm going tot go hop in the shower now, nah?"

"Yes, do that," Gaara hissed. He returned his attention to the game. Lee was stuck in a sticky spot about ten squares from his. Without Naruto in the game anymore, there was still a chance he could win . . .

Naruto pulled his t-shirt up over his head, sighing heavily. So much had happened today, and he was still having a hard time taking it all in. He was going to take over the position of Hokage in less than a year for one thing. He began to hyperventilate a little just thinking about that. And Gaara was going to be staying until then as well, which meant many more opportunities to shove him and Lee into an awkward situation. Fun. And then there was the little problem of Neji . . . The blonde shook his head and tried not to think about that.

His eyes caught his reflection in the mirror off to his right, and his fingers automatically traveled down his chest to rest on a mark on his top left side. Right over his heart.

It was a small thing, and though the ink that made it had dried over two and a half years ago, Naruto still flinched as he touched it. The white fan, blowing gently on the red flame. The mark of the Uchiha. His fingers traced in absently, following the curves of the lines with ease. _This mark . . . It's us. Not the Uchiha's symbol, but ours. I was the fan, the wind. And you were the fire . . . _

Naruto removed the rest of his clothing and entered the shower. He turned the water up high, letting the steam from it's heat roll out under the fogged glass door. He closed his eyes, and listened to the sound as the water cascaded down onto the tiles, his body, and the glass door. _It was . . . Raining that day . . . It sounded like this._

_The blonde pressed down on the blood soaked cloth he held over the gaping wound left by the Rasengan in his opponent's abdomen. The dark haired man grimaced and pushed the bloodied orange and black jacket off of his stomach._

"_Stop, dobe. It's too late."_

"_Shut up Sasuke," Naruto hissed, trying to reapply pressure to the gushing wound, only to have his hands pushed away again._

"_You were the only one . . . I needed someone to end everything. And you were the only one who could do it . . . Usuratonkachi."_

"_Stop it! Stop talking!" Naruto bent over the barely breathing form, his eyes clouding over with tears, "the medi-nin will be here soon."_

"_And they won't take any time to heal a missing nin who tried to destroy their village. Dobe." Sasuke smiled slightly. His hand reached up and grabbed the back of the blonde's neck, pulling him down towards him. His lips gently brushed Naruto's and he let the boy pull away. "Don't look at me like that," he murmured. His eyes were growing glassy over the red of the Sharingan still lingering there. His hand strayed down to the blonde's chest, letting his fingers rest on the blood soaked shirt, above the Leaf shinobi's heart. "Whenever you looked for me . . . Naruto . . . I was always . . . Right here . . . Nowhere else . . ." his eyes closed, and his hand slipped off of the shirt and fell to his side._

"_Sasuke?" Naruto leaned down over the dark haired ninja, "S-Sasuke? Sasuke! Wake up! Please! You can't just . . ." Tears poured down his cheeks, tracing down past the whisker marks and falling onto the crimson ground, mixing with the rain that had started to fall. "Sasukeeeeee!!!"_

Naruto leaned his head against the tiled walls of the shower. "It's . . . so hard. It's so hard to keep going like this . . ." His fist hit the wall, and one of the tiles cracked. "It wasn't supposed to end that way!"

The blonde's head whipped up as hand knocked against the bathroom door.

"Naruto-"

"Not right now Neji!" Naruto hissed, recognizing the older boy's voice.

"Yes, right now." the door swung open and then closed again, and the blonde swore he heard the lock click as it did. The tall brunette shinobi stood facing the glass shower door. "because every time I leave you alone, you cry. So yes right now. Right now, we need to talk."

"I'm taking a shower," the blonde snapped, turning his back to the man, so that he wouldn't see the tattoo, or anything else for that matter. He closed his eyes, and prayed that the other would get the hint and leave. But over the sound of the pounding of the water on tiles, he heard a rustling. And then he felt his heart stop as he heard the sound of the glass shower door slide open slowly, and then close again.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and slammed the smaller boy against the side of the shower. The blonde opened blue eyes to see Neji standing over him, water from the shower dripping off of his mid-back length hair, and rolling down his muscled bare chest. The younger boy made sure his eyes didn't go down any farther.

"I'm not going to just sit around and watch you cry by yourself any longer!" Neji's voice was fierce. "I thought I made that clear before. But I guess I didn't."

"And what if I want to be alone!" Naruto spat, "Maybe I'm alone because I don't deserve anyone's stupid kindness! I brought these tears upon myself!"

Neji sighed, his grip loosening on the blonde but remaining where it was. His gaze fell upon the red and white fan and flame mark on the shorter boy's chest, and his white eyes narrowed.

Naruto saw where he was looking, and he raised his own hand to the tattoo. "I'm not going to give this up" he whispered, "he may be gone . . . But he's still right here . . . And that is never going to change."

"And I'm not going to give you up," Neji whispered, raising his eyes to meet the blonde's sky blue ones. "The Naruto that I love is the same Naruto that was always in love with Sasuke. I'm not asking you to."

"Then you're an idiot," Naruto said, "how can you love someone who can never love you back? That's stupid."

Neji's eyes glazed over, "do you really think that?"

"That I will never fall in love again? Yes," he looked away, watching the water roll off of his own shoulder. "So . . . Give up . . ."

"I wont," the Hyuga placed a hand over the blonde's mouth before he could protest. "Even if my feelings are never returned, Naruto, all I want is to be near you. Can you not understand that? That's all . . . That I've ever wanted . . ."

"Ever?" Naruto's gaze was critical.

"Ever since you challenged me in the seconed round of the Chunin exams . . ."

The blonde's eyes wandered across the man's broad chest, a blush creeping across his face. "You want to stay . . . With me?"

"Always . . ."

"And if I never return your feelings?"

"I'll still be here," Neji whispered, leaning over the blonde, pressing him back against the side of the shower again.

"And until then, the time when I admit to something like that, in the land of "never" . . ." Slowly, his hands touched the Hyuga's chest, his fingers splaying out over the slightly tanned skin. "Physically . . ."

Neji pulled him underneath the spray of the shower and locked the boy's lips against his own in a reply.

Naruto pulled away, leaning his head against the man's shoulder. "it's okay

then I guess . . ." his hands wandered down Neji's chest again, watching the falling water curve around his fingers to continue it's path down to the ground. He was fascinated by the effect, and ran his hands over different spots to take in all the patterns it created.

The taller shinobi watched him a moment, before wrapping his arms around the boy and pressing him back against the wall again. The water was beginning to turn cold, but he ignored it. His hand reached up and his fingers curled into the wet blond hair, pulling Naruto's face to his, taking the pink lips as his own once more. The blonde gasped slightly as the connection was broken a few moments later. "How far . . ." Neji whispered, as he nibbled at the smaller boy's ear lobe, "will you let me go . . ."

Naruto's hand gripped Neji's back, as he tried to keep himself from sliding down the tiles to the ground. "Wait . . . Not here . . . You'll use up my water bill . . ."

Gaara and Lee looked up as the sound of a door opening reached their ears. Half a second later, another door opened, closed, and then the click of a lock was heard. "What was that?" Lee muttered, shuffling the movement cards.

"A game," Gaara said bluntly.

The breath was knocked out of him as Naruto fell backwards onto the bed, Neji's weight coming to rest on top of him. A rough hand parted the front of the fluffy white bathrobe the blonde had pulled on as they'd left the bathroom. "All the way?" The older shinobi's voice whispered against Naruto's ear.

"Yes," Naruto breathed. His own hand reached up and undid the loosely tied knot that bound the other's white bathrobe. His eyes took in the sight of the other man naked above him, and he wished he was that muscular.

Neji's hand trailed across the Uchiha fan on the smaller boy's chest down to the flat stomach. He hesitated, and slid the robe open the rest of the way, letting his fingers glide down even farther.

Naruto's breathing turned into a gasp as Neji slid his fingers down the length of the blonde's semi-erect cock. "Ah! Wait-" He pushed the older shinobi's hands away and slipped out of his bathrobe, throwing the thing on the floor. Neji followed suit, pulling the rumpled sheets up from the end of the bed over top of them.

"Nah, Naruto . . ." the Hyuga breathed, running his tongue down the side of the blonde's neck. "I wont let you slip away from me this time." He trailed a kiss down Naruto's chest to the Uchiha mark over the boy's heart. He gave it a rough bite, smirking as the blonde drew in a shaky breath of air from the pain. "I want you to be mine . . ." he drew his fingers over the bite mark he'd left, down to a pink nipple. "All of you," he whispered, pressing his fingers into it, making the blonde gasp and squirm beneath him.

"C-cut that out, Neji . . ." Naruto hissed, his hand fisting into the dark brown hair as the Hyuga did the same to the opposite nipple. "You're killing me here . . ."

"Oh?" Neji raised his head and smirked at the boy, letting his fingers trail down his chest, stopping just below his navel. "What do you want me to do . . . Naruto?"

The blonde shivered as the man whispered his name. _Just say my name like that again_, was his first thought. His entire body felt like it was on fire, and every place that Neji was touching burned like he was using some kind of Ninjutsu on those places. He wanted the other, the feeling was screaming at him from a place farther back in his mind than the bars that held the Kyuubi. "All of you . . ." he whispered, "and all of me . . ."

Neji trailed his fingers lower, caressing the tip of the blonde's manhood, and smirked again as Naruto let out a soft moan. "Lay back," he whispered, levering himself up into a better position. Naruto did so, a questioning look in his eyes as the dark haired shinobi eased his legs apart. He trailed two fingers across the inside of Naruto's thigh, watching him shiver at the touch.

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt those same two fingers press gently against his entrance, and whimpered. "Stop teasing me," he whispered.

The older shinobi smiled, and leaned down to place a kiss on the blonde's quivering lips. "Then stop pretending you're not scared. I wont do this if I'm going to get nothing but lies out of your mouth." He slid the fingers inside, watching with a calm gaze as Naruto flinched. "I'll go slow."

Naruto shuddered as the fingers moved inside of him, stretching his muscles. It felt . . . Well, the only word the blonde could think of off the top of his head was _weird._ but something else was there too. A strange tingling sensation as nerves came to life inside where they'd never been before. A third finger followed the first two, and the sensation increased. "Neji . . ." Naruto gasped, running pleading hands across the man's broad chest.

Neji caught the hand and gave it a light, teasing kiss. "What?" he asked, getting a reproachful glare from the blonde.

Naruto's arms reached up and wrapped around Neji's shoulders, his legs hooking around the other's in the same motion. His voice rose softly into a little sing song sort of hum. "Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, come on boy just me and you . . ."

The older Jonin chuckled, "from now until forever . . ." he kissed Naruto gently as he slipped a hand underneath his back, raising the blonde's hips off of the bed. "I hate that song, baka."

The blonde shivered as he felt something other than fingers pressing against him. His hands curled into the dark brown hair on the back of Neji's head, and he brought him down for another kiss, and held him there as the older man entered him.

Neji pulled away from Naruto's grip, feeling the blonde's fingers trail down to his back, digging into the skin slightly. "Are you alright?"

The fingers gripped him tighter, and Naruto glared up at him, "do not insult the next Hokage." He gripped the other's shoulders and pulled himself farther down onto Neji's cock, making the other let out an ear pleasing gasp. "Move," he whispered, pushing himself up so that he was straddling Neji across his lap.

The Hyuga slowed his breathing, keeping one hand on Naruto's back, and raising the other to curl into the blonde hair, pulling him down. His lips caught the smaller boy's in a searing kiss, his tongue slipping past the other's teeth for an instant. "This position is going to hurt you a bit more," he stated, shifting his legs beneath him for support.

"Nah," Naruto whispered against the side of his face, "I told you not to insult the future Hokage. A little pain never killed me." His arms wrapped themselves underneath the Hyuga's and he pulled himself closer, until their chests rubbed together, for support. "Move already," he murmured, burying his face against the taller man's neck, "I want to feel you."

Neji complied, pulling himself out of the blonde part way, and then sliding slowly back in. He shuddered as he heard Naruto whisper, "harder" against his neck. He wrapped his arms around the blonde, one twisting around his back, the other curling into the blonde hair again. Holding him tight. "All my life," he murmured, "I want to be just like this, with you . . ." He pulled out farther, and slammed into the blonde, hearing him gasp.

Naruto squeezed his eyes closed, and his grip on the other man tightened. it was a weird sensation, having someone else inside of him. Stranger in feeling than the fingers had been. It hurt, but it also made him feel . . . Complete. Like he'd been missing something his entire life, and now he had it. He dug his nails into Neji's back as he moved in him again. It felt . . . _Amazing_ . . .

Neji shifted his position, searching for the angle that he wanted. "I want to hear you, Naruto . . ." he murmured, running a hand through the blonde hair. He pushed into him again.

The younger shinobi let out a gasp, and moaned at the sensation of Neji connecting with something deep inside of him.

The dark haired man pulled Naruto closer, keeping a grip on that same position and angle. "All of you . . ." he whispered, "and all of me . . ." He dove into him again, and was rewarded with another cry on Naruto's part.

They rocked back and forth, Naruto clinging to him so tightly that it was beginning to hurt. But Neji kept moving, reaching up to take Naruto's lips with his own every few moments. "Together," Neji urged, pulling Naruto closer to him than ever before.

Naruto buried his face against the slightly tanned neck, his breathing halting as he came against the Hyuga's stomach. His fingers scrabbled at the other man's back for purchase as he felt Neji empty into him. A burning, passionate feeling. And for the briefest of moments, he wished it would never end.

The Hyuga bent down and lowered the blonde down onto the bed, slowly pulling out. He placed a kiss on Naruto's forehead, rolling over onto his own back beside him.

Naruto lay there, his breathing still struggling to return to normal. He levered himself up onto one arm, wincing slightly as pain laced down his lower back. He scootched across the bed and rolled over on top of Neji. "You're rough," he teased, kissing him gently.

Neji reached a hand up and tussled the blonde's hair, "you asked me to be." He wrapped his arms around him and returned the kiss, lingering a little longer than the other had. "I love you . . . Naruto . . ."

The blonde pulled back and looked away, his fingers tracing a scar on the top left of the Hyuga's chest absently. Even now, his mind, and his heart were still lingering on that rainy night two and a half years ago. He could still hear the sound of the rain, falling onto him, and onto the still body of Sasuke.

Neji read the distant look in his lover's eyes, and pulled him closer. "I wont ask you to ever reply to that. So don't look away."

Naruto nodded, but his eyes stayed glazed and unfocused as he lay his head on the taller shinobi's chest. He wrapped his arms underneath the Hyuga's back, clinging to him for support, as he held back the guilty tears that prickled at his eyes.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

*stares at chapter and blushes* uuuhhhhh . . . Yeah. That was my first ever smut. And it was NejiNaru, which was the last pairing I ever expected to write a sex scene for . . . *pulls some hair out* I hope it wasn't awkward and weird. I've read enough M rated fanfics to give it a fair shot, but I'm not sure how it turned out. Please send me feedback on that. It actually took me three whole days to write this chapter tebayo . . . I had to do "research". *sarcastic air quotes*. I went to the pool and played with these geyser like things and seriously stared at them for an hour. By staring, I mean ninja chopping and kicking the shit out of them and watching what that did. And listening to the sound the water made. And then taking out my stacks of Yaoi manga and Kurofai Doujinshi and rereading those. And wishing that in all the scans I'd collected on my disk, I had a NejiNaru Doujinshi. *vows to look for one tomorrow*.

I hope everyone liked this chapter. And the scene where Naruto has the Sasuke's Death Flashback. LeeGaa focus next chapter.

Oh, and the song they sang a little bit of during the middle of everything was "Boom Boom Boom" By Vengaboys. Which I was listening to at the time to keep my mind on track. *laughs*

Also, when we see through Naruto's eyes, he refers to Neji as a man, and yet when it switches to Neji's POV for a while, Neji refers to Naruto as a boy. It's meant to be like that, btw.

Chapter Theme Song: He's All That - Cascada

"For everything I've left behind, none of it was true. He's my reason, I belong to you . . ."


	7. Chapter 7

**Love Rebound: Training**

When Gaara and Lee left Naruto's apartment the next morning, they had yet to see the blond. Neji had emerged from the bedroom, getting quizzical stares from both shinobi sometime in the mid morning. He'd darted into Minato's bedroom before Lee could question him, and came back with the child held in his arms in a way that reminded Gaara of a human shield. The look on Neji's face said basically, _"I have a baby here, so don't make me talk about inappropriate things."_

Of course Gaara didn't especially care what the baby heard, since he couldn't understand them anyways. "Where's Naruto?" He'd asked.

"He's still sleeping," Neji had growled, "he hurt his back."

"Doing what?" Lee asked with mock innocence, earning him a glare hidden beneath Neji's very red cheeks.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Neji had hissed, looking pointedly away.

They'd both decided to leave at that point, since they'd actually felt a dangerous flare of chakra from the shinobi.

At the present moment, they were in Lee's living room watching as Gaara's brother carried a mess of boxes into the back bedroom. Kankuro glared at them as he walked past, dragging a bed behind him. "It would be nice to have a little help!"

"I'm the Kazekage," Gaara said bluntly, moving his playing piece across the kidnapped game of Candy Land. "And I need Lee to play with me," he handed Lee the stack of movement cards.

Kankuro rolled his eyes and mumbled something about that last sentence sounding wrong. His senses tingled suddenly as someone came hurtling through the half open front door, landing on the bed he was holding and nearly making him drop it.

"Woohoo!" A cheery voice barked, "what's going on here?! A party!?" Kiba Inuzuka sprawled across the tilted bed and grinned down at the Suna Jonin. Akamaru trotted into the apartment behind him and sat by the door.

"No," Kankuro hissed, glaring at the dog ninja, "I'm helping Gaara move in. now get off and help me carry this bed."

"He's shacking up with Lee?" Kiba asked, sliding off the bed and glancing at a very red faced spandex wearing Jonin.

"God no," Kankuro snapped, making a face, "he just needs a place to stay while he helps Naruto with his Hokage training." He went on to mumble something about inconvenience and the poor Sand village being run by a scary older sister.

Kiba hefted up his end of the bed, "Right! I heard about that! Where is the little blonde squirt anyways! I wanna congratulate him!"

"He's at his house," Gaara said, smirking as his playing figure passed Lee's on the board. "But he's not feeling well apparently."

The Inuzuka gave Gaara a quizzical stare, especially as Lee tried to give the Sand nin a few silencing gestures. "Too much pressure?"

"Back pains . . ." Gaara looked up briefly, "that's what Neji said."

Kankuro and Kiba glanced at each other, and promptly burst into a fit of laughter. Kankuro dropped his end of the bed and Kiba did the same, and they collapsed onto it howling with laughter.

"Geeze Kankuro! That has to be one of the funniest things I've heard all year!" Kiba giggled, rolling over on the bed.

"Not as funny as the fact that Gaara totally doesn't get what he just said," Kankuro replied, ignoring the questioning glare he received form his brother. However, his eyes did catch sight of the unusually venomous one directed their way coming from Lee. Kankuro coughed, and nodded to Kiba, and they hastily carried the bed into the back room.

Lee turned to Gaara, and motioned for him to follow as the Jonin headed outside. The Kazekage reluctantly left the game, but obliged. The two walked down one of Konoha's main streets, and soon found themselves at one of the village's many training grounds.

Rock Lee took a deep breath, before facing his companion. "Gaara, what you said back there was a little rude, to Naruto and to Neji."

Gaara stared at him, uncomprehending, "I was just stating the facts."

Lee sighed, "yes, but they weren't facts Kankuro of Kiba needed to know. You know what it implies in a situation like we saw this morning, and Neji's explanation of 'back pains' . . ." Lee prayed that the Kazekage did, for he _really _didn't want to give him _the talk_.

Gaara knelt down, swirling a finger through the dirt that covered the ground around the training area. "They had sex," he stated.

A little embarrassed squeak came from Lee at how bluntly the Kazekage had said that. "Ummmmmmm . . . Yeah . . . Probably . . ."

"I heard them, last night."

"G-Gaara!" Lee hissed, his face growing redder by the second. "That is not something you should be listening to, even if your ears are sharp! And that is also not something you should discuss with other people!"

"Why not?" Gaara asked, glancing at him with a curious gaze.

The fuzzy browed shinobi sat down beside the Kazekage and sighed again. "Because it's something special shared by the two people involved . . ." Lee whispered.

"I've seen it with three before," he blinked as Lee shot him a horrified stare. "When I used my third eye jutsu to spy on the Hidden Mist a few years ago," he explained.

"Anyways," Lee said, trying to regain his heartbeat from where it had stopped at the thought that Gaara was a peeping tom. "It's something special . . . And _private_," he added, emphasizing the word, "between those two people. And if you find out about it, like this morning, you don't go around telling people. Okay?"

"Something you do with someone you love," Gaara said quietly, staring at the ground.

"Yes," Lee whispered, feeling a little regretful that the Suna nin didn't know the feeling.

"To love people . . . Is that something that someone can learn?" He looked over at Lee, his emerald eyes looking utterly lost.

"I'd like to think so," Lee said with a small smile. "Like training, it's something that takes a little time to master."

"Training . . ." Gaara's eyes strayed over to the area they sat in, "did you come here to train?"

Lee stood up, throwing out a thumbs up towards the redhead. "Yosh! Of course I did! I've been neglecting my Taijutsu workouts the past two days!" He caught the look Gaara gave him at this, and grinned, "want to join me? I'll show you my morning routine, and we can practice it together."

Gaara stepped sideways, raising his arms in front of him and slowly bringing them together. He shifted to his right, leaning on his left leg and twisting his arms backward, and then forward again in a thrusting motion. The Kazekage of the Sand was considered a genius, and Lee's complicated Taijutsu workout was all but mastered in a half hour.

He kept his eyes focused on the spandex wearing Jonin as they shifted into the next step of the routine, completely in sync with each other. It was a weird sensation to the Kazekage, like there was somehow a chakra string between them, like the ones Kankuro used on his puppets. But their movements were completely voluntary. It was the sensation of his own want for it to be that way that was making his mind turn.

Lee caught the strange look the redhead was directing at him as they leapt into the air, coming to rest into a crouch before standing again and aiming a kick at the air. "Isn't it relaxing, Gaara-sama?"

Gaara's eyes glazed over slightly as the two of them shifted into crane position and back down into a lightning fast set of four punches at the air. "I'm not _your_ Kazekage," he said finally, going down into the crouch and back up, stretching his arms over his head.

Lee grinned, "sorry. What do you want me to call you then?" He led the way into a sidestep, bending down over his outstretched left leg.

"Just Gaara," the Kazekage said, returning to a standing position and sweeping his arms out in front of him.

"Isn't that . . . A little informal?" Lee asked hesitantly, " I mean, what would you call me? A thing like that should be mutual . . ."

"How about, 'Moron,'" Gaara smirked, leaping into a flying kick alongside his companion.

"Just Lee, thank you," the Jonin replied huffily. "I guess it's okay, since we

are-"

"Shacking up," Gaara said, repeating the phrase Kiba had used as he went into a ritualized block.

"Roommates," Lee finished, trying not to stumble in the movements he'd practiced almost every day for the past seven years as Gaara said that. "Shacking up is a different concept."

"Oh," Gaara said, not really caring, but filing the information away for later. His eyes strayed to Lee again, watching as they both went through the movements, completely in sync with each other. Right now, he knew that he was building some sort of bond with the Jonin. Like he had over the years with his siblings, and with Naruto. They were friends, and yet, these perfect movements . . . The way they kept in perfect step with each other . . . It felt like it meant something else . . .

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Naruto had lain in bed most of the day, blaming a not existent soreness in his lower back, which had healed during the night from the Kyuubi's chakra. He lay there with his face buried in his pillow, his mind whirling. He must have been on really bad drugs last night, though he couldn't remember taking any. He sighed, and rolled over so that he was looking up at the ceiling. Some really bad drugs . . .

His alarm beeped the hour of two in the afternoon, and the blonde decided to drag himself out of bed. He tiredly stumbled out of his room and across the living room, noticing that half his stack of board games was gone, and knew that Gaara and Lee must have taken off pretty early. As he neared the kitchen, he heard the sound of Minato giggling, and smiled slightly to himself. He would never get tired of that sound. He entered the room and was met with the smell of something simmering in a pan on the stove, though he didn't recognize it. His eyes fell upon the scene in front of him after he gave up trying to guess it.

Neji was standing in the middle of the room, his back to Naruto. He was holding Minato, and was dipping the baby down towards the ground, being rewarded each time with a loud giggle. "You like that?" He asked, dipping the child down again, as Minato screeched and laughed.

Naruto watched them, his son, and the man he'd made love with the night before. _Maybe it wasn't drugs after all,_ he thought, feeling a warm, bubbly feeling well in his chest.

He walked across the distance between the two of them, and wrapped his arms around Neji from behind, pressing his face against the man's broad back.

Neji shivered, a bit surprised that the younger shinobi had managed to sneak up on him. He looked over his shoulder, and smiled down at the mop of blonde hair leaning against him. "Nah, Naruto, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah . . ." Naruto whispered, tightening his grip. "I needed a hug dattebayo. You're very convenient."

"Is that all I'm good for?" Neji teased.

"For now," Naruto replied mockingly. "Has Minato been giving you any trouble?"

Neji tickled the baby, loosening Naruto's hand around him a seconed later. "He's a good test tube baby. Very well behaved. He only cried once," He handed the child to his lover, dipping down to give the blonde a kiss at the same time.

Naruto smiled as Neji pulled away, "I'm assuming that Gaara and Lee left awhile ago?"

"Yeah," Neji said, wandering over to the pa and stirring whatever was in it absently. "I made them leave, it was too tedious cooking for four."

Naruto glanced at him, "the housewife is complaining," he whispered not so quietly to Minato.

"Not my house," Neji replied. He turned to Naruto, pointing a wooden spoon at him, "and if I remember last night correctly . . ."

The blonde covered his ears with his hands, "la-la-la! Not listening! I am still a manly man!"

Neji leaned over the blonde, wrapping an arm around his waist form behind and pulling him close. "I know that too," he murmured.

Naruto blushed, and snatched the spoon away from the taller shinobi and licked it. "What is this stuff?" he asked, changing the subject.

"The sauce for Hamburg steak," Neji replied. "Now set out the dishes for lunch." He lessened his grip on the blonde, ignoring the whines of "bossing the Hokage around" that followed. "You're not the Hokage yet," he chided, flipping the Hamburg patties in the pan. "Not for ten more months."

_Ten more months to get Naruto to accept him . . . Or it would be to late . . ._

_^-^ ^-^ ^-^_

Lee stared down at the letter in his hands. He hadn't even had to open it to know it was from Sakura, he recognized her handwriting. His eyes strayed up to where Gaara was sitting across from him at the table, tucking the letter away into his weapons pouch. He'd have to find some excuse to slip away tomorrow, he really didn't want the redhead to worry about him.

He smiled as Gaara gave him a questioning look over his food. "Yosh, Gaara, I have to go out tomorrow. Will you be okay for awhile by yourself?" Gaara's gaze turned critical, and Lee knew that he was analyzing his emotions for truth.

"I have to go to Naruto's tomorrow anyways," he said finally. But underneath the table, his hands had already formed the signs for the third eye jutsu. Something wasn't right in the way Lee was talking. What he'd said was the truth, but his voice had been faintly close to breaking to Gaara's shinobi skilled ears. Somewhere in that sentence, there had been a lie.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

La-di-dah . . . Was it LeeGaa focused enough tebayo? It probably wont even have Neji and Naruto in it in the next chapter. I want Kiba and Kankuro to show up more, cause I like that pairing, so I think that Kankuro will be staying in the village for a little while to look after his brother.

Chapter Theme Song: Learning To Breath - Switchfoot

"I'm learning to breath, I'm learning to call. I'm finding that you and you alone can catch my fall. I'm living again, a way better life. I'm dying to breath in these abundant

skies . . ."


	8. Chapter 8

**Love Rebound: Meetings**

Gaara muttered something under his breath as he watched Lee walk down one of Konoha's main roads with his Third Eye Jutsu. The Spandex wearing fool was being a pain in the butt at the moment, stopping at various stores along the way as if he had nothing better to do. Possibly some kind of tactic to discourage someone who might be following him. Someone being Gaara of the Sand. But Gaara was persistent. He'd held up the jutsu all of the night before since the moment he recognized the distressed feelings emanating from the Jonin.

Lee glanced around again, as though he could sense he was being watched, and darted into an alleyway. Gaara directed the jutsu to follow, and hissed in frustration as the eye showed him an empty area. Lee had slipped away. The redhead dispelled the Jutsu and ran a hand through his tussled hair. Stupid Lee.

Without another thought, he opened the window of his room and jumped down onto the road below. It would take awhile to get to where the Third Eye had last seen Lee, but he would take the time.

Suboku no Gaara had few friends, and because of that, he wasn't about to let one of those few friends do something completely idiotic. If Lee really was going to see that damn Haruno woman, then Gaara wouldn't be far behind. The way Lee had behaved around her since Gaara had started residing in the Leaf village was disturbing to the redhead. It was like Lee was in _pain_ when he saw her. Though there were no physical wounds.

And unlike most people may have thought, the Kazekage understood that kind of pain. The kind of pain that lies only in a person's heart. It was one of the only kinds of pain that Gaara had ever experienced. And he knew it well. It was that sort of pain that he had allowed to rule his life for six years, until Naruto had beat some sense in him.

He didn't want Lee to end up like him. Every time the Jonin saw Sakura, his smile seemed to disappear more and more. And that was something Gaara never wanted to see.

"You came!" Sakura called from where she was sitting on one of the many stone benches behind the school. She patted a space on the bench beside her indicating that the Shinobi should sit.

Lee's heart had stopped a long time ago. The moment he saw the pink haired Kunoichi, he realized he shouldn't have come. The way she was smiling hurt. It was a smile that didn't portray any regret or emotion for him. And it hurt. "H-hi Sakura-san." He said, trying to return the smile. "How are you?"

She smiled again, "I'm okay Lee, how have you been?" She patted the bench beside her once more for him to sit, but he pointedly shuffled his feet and stood his ground.

"Alright," the Jonin replied weekly. "Sakura-san, I hate to be rude, but why did you want to meet me here?"

"I want to get back together, Lee. I'm not saying I want to marry you, but I'm lonely without you around . . ."

Lee inhaled a breath, his mind flashing with memories. _Sakura-san laughing, Sakura-san walking with him, Sakura -san's hand in his . . . _He fisted a hand into his black hair, his eyes stinging. Something was flickering in the back of his mind, begging to be let out.

_A harsh, anguished voice stating that he had never known a thing like love. Narrowed, guilt ridden, black rimmed emerald eyes, "let me handle this." A smooth, scarless hand dragging Lee away from Sakura. Red hair dripping wet with water as Lee splashed his companion in the hot springs. A small, strangely gentle smile at the simple suggestion of "friend"._

Lee looked up at her, his heart torn. He loved her, he really did. And yet . . . His hand rose to wipe away a tear that had trailed down his face, and he stared at it uncomprehending. If he continued on like this, would his heart keep hurting like it was now? Love was supposed to be a youthful thing . . . And yet, being with Sakura right

now . . . That feeling had faded. Instead he felt as though he'd already lived a lifetime.

"Lee!" The voice was sharp, and was tinged with worry that Lee knew only he could recognize.

He turned, ignoring the gasp that Sakura issued as she caught sight of the speaker. The redheaded Sand shinobi was standing a good twenty feet away, looking very tired and annoyed. "G-Gaara?" Lee whispered, feeling very confused. He raised a bandaged hand to his eyes again to try and wipe away the tears.

"Lee, what is he doing here?" Sakura's voice was disdainful, but also very scared. She hadn't forgotten how the Kazekage had nearly killed her six years ago.

"Lee . . ." Gaara was hesitating, his emerald eyes flickering between Sakura and the Jonin. Now that he was here, the Sand shinobi didn't know what to do. He wanted to help the man, but he had no idea how. Love was a matter that he had never understood. He narrowed his eyes and held out a hand towards his friend. "Lee . . ."

Rock Lee stumbled forward the ten or fifteen steps it took to reach the Kazekage. He reached out his hand to grasp the redhead's and the Sand shinobi pulled the taller man towards him, the sand barrier whipping up around them as Gaara pulled him close.

Gaara's eye's narrowed even more, and the sand whirled around them in a vicious twister, lashing out close to the Kunoichi as she jumped back. He could see the tears in Lee's eyes as the Jonin's hand found the Kazekage's back, and his anger rose. His eyes met Sakura's, "how dare you ask such a thing of him! I may not know anything about the feeling of Love, but what you are doing to him is _not _that. It is not love that you are giving him, trying to bind him to you for your own benefits!" His voice lowered to a dangerous level that Lee had only heard once before. "Do you think Sasuke would approve? Do you think he'd understand? Why do you think that he died? Because he didn't want to do those same things to Naruto or you any longer! And now you're just doing the exact same thing he did after he joined that Snake."

His arm wrapped around Lee, and the Jonin leaned his head against the side of Gaara's cheek. "Next time you see him, it had better be to apologize." The sand, and the two shinobi inside it's protection, disappeared inside Gaara's transportation jutsu.

Lee straightened up as his feet hit the floor of the center room of his apartment. He blinked, realizing that he was standing there with his arms draped across the back of a very pissed, very annoyed Kazekage. He flinched as he heard the low growl that echoed form Gaara as the sand returned to it's gourd. Lee took a few cautionary steps back. "Gaara . . . You didn't have to come and-"

"Yes I did," the redhead hissed venomously, taking the gourd off of his back and leaning it against the wall. "Are you that stupid Lee? Why would you go and see her when you _know_ that any feelings she has for you are false?" He turned emerald eyes to glare at his companion. "She will never love you like you want her to . . . And you

still . . ." He fisted a hand into his hair and flopped down on the couch, repressing a sigh. "I don't understand you, Lee. I don't understand this thing called love that you seem to hold in such high regard . . ."

Lee smiled slightly, and sat down next to the Kazekage. "Yosh, Gaara. Do you want me to explain it?" The Sand shinobi remained silent, but Lee decided that that was a "yes". "When a person loves another person, Gaara, it is an . . . Well, an overwhelming feeling. You feel like you have to be by that person all the time. You want to make that person smile, and hold that person in your arms when they're sad. You want to defend that person with your very life. And if that person I suddenly gone . . . Or no longer returns you feelings . . ." He clenched a hand into his spandex above his heart. "It leave you feeling like a hole has formed . . ."

Gaara's eyes widened. "A hole . . . In your heart?" his hand rose to cover his own heart, as though shielding it. That was a feeling that Gaara did know. His heart had been full of holes since the day he'd been born, and most of them were still there. He winced, recalling the words his uncle had told him twelve years ago. "So . . . You can only heal that hole . . . With love . . ."

"I guess," Lee said solemnly, but I've never thought of it like that before . . ." he glanced at the Sand shinobi. "Gaara . . ." he reached out and ruffled the Kazekage's hair, and grinned as the redhead stared at him in surprise. "Gaara . . . You and I both have holes like that, right? And I know that we can find a way to heal them eventually."

The Suna nin stared at Lee._ "You want to make that person smile, and hold that person when they're sad. You want to defend that person with your life . . ." _When he'd gone after the Jonin, wasn't that what he'd been doing? It had been an unconscious reaction, almost a desperation. He didn't want to see Lee get hurt again. He looked away. This was a matter that he'd have to think about.

Naruto skipped down the hallway, feeling full of himself as usual. Minato bounced up and down in the baby backpack, burbling random nonsense as usual. The blonde was on his way to a meeting again, so he was trying to stay in a good mood in the face of it. Hopefully it wouldn't be as intimidating as his meeting with the Daimyo had been. Tsunade had something about "clan leaders," but Naruto hadn't been paying much attention.

Before Naruto could swing the door open at full force like he usually did, a hand grabbed his shoulder and hauled him back. "As the future Hokage, don't you think you should walk in there a little more dignified?" Neji hissed in his ear.

The blonde glared at him over his shoulder. "Whatever, like I care-"

"_They_ care," the Hyuga insisted. He kneeled down in front of the boy, straightening out the long white and red-flame cloak that had belonged to the Fourth Hokage. He smirked at Naruto's annoyed expression, and stood back up. Neji unlatched the backpack form the boy's shoulders, and placed it against the wall in the hallway, scoping Minato up into his arms. "It also isn't very dignified to walk in there holding a baby." He pushed Naruto ahead of him before the blonde could protest, and opened the door to the meeting room.

The blonde blinked in the light that glared through the room's large window. There were people seated all around the circular table in the center of the room, and as Naruto's eyes adjusted, he realized he knew most of the people, if not all of them. Neji placed a hand reassuringly between Naruto's shoulders, and pushed him gently forward into the room.

"Oh, Neji. I didn't know you were coming too," Tsunade said, standing up from her spot at the table. She snapped her fingers and another chair materialized beside the empty one waiting for Naruto. They sat down, Neji quietly trying to hush the giggling Minato.

"What's this whole thing again granny?" Naruto asked leisurely, leaning back in his chair. Neji kicked him under the table, and he sat up straight.

"You're here to meet the leaders of Konoha's main ninja clans, so that they can approve of your appointment," Tsunade said, sounding more than a little exasperated. "From my right, though I'm sure none of these people are strangers to you; Hinata Hyuga, Shino Amurabe, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akamichi, and Shikamaru Nara."

"Hey guys!" Naruto grinned, waving at them from across the table.

"How tedious," Shikamaru muttered, "Hokage-san, do you really think we care or not whether this moron is your successor? Cause we've worked with him enough that you should know we don't . . ."

"I'd like to hear what you think about it," Tsunade hissed, with a glare at the Jonin.

"I . . . I think Naruto would make a great Hokage," Hinata whispered, smiling at the blonde. "It's been his dream forever, after all."

Shino glared at the blonde over top of his sun glasses, "fine by me."

Choji continued eating the large cookie he had in his hands, "if Shikamaru say's it's fine, I don't really care." The Nara nodded in response.

"Sure thing buddy," Kiba said with a wide smirk, "but one question . . . About these 'back pains' Gaara told me about-mmmf!" Shino's hand cut off the rest of the sentence, the bug master's eyes never straying from where they were fixed on Naruto.

Naruto made a mental note to tear Neji into little pieces, as the Hyuga blushed and continued playing with Minato beside him. Make that very tiny, tiny pieces. And then he would throw them in the river. Or better yet, burn them, then throw the ashes into the river. "I hope that I can . . . Serve you all as the Hokage fairly . . ." he muttered.

"And we hope that we can be of service to you," Hinata replied, pretending to take no notice of Kiba's earlier comment. The young Kunoichi had grown in maturity over the years, and no longer went red in the face and passed out upon seeing the blonde. She was currently in fact living with Shino in the Hyuga mansion, acting as head of the family after her father's death a year prior. The Amurabe were more of a self sustaining clan than the very tight knit Hyuga, so Shino came and went from his estate as he pleased.

"Likewise," Choji said, tossing a cookie to Naruto across the table.

Neji walked down the street, listening as Naruto dragged his feet behind him. "Nah, Naruto. What are you doing? We'll never get anywhere if you walk like that."

The blonde looked up from where he'd been kicking at the dirt road with a glare. "Why do you care, don't you have somewhere to be?" He inwardly hit himself as he saw a slightly hurt look cross the taller man's features. "Sorry . . . I just . . ." He reached out and took Minato from Neji's arms. "Nyah, Neji. Go get your stuff."

"What stuff?" Neji's gaze was critical, he was seriously getting worried that the blonde had hit his head or something when he'd chased Kiba out of the Hokage's building after the meeting.

"All your stuff," Naruto replied, half absorbed in bouncing Minato up and down on his arm. "Since you plan on staying with me . . ."

Neji smiled, "very subtle way of saying 'move in with me', Naruto." He smirked as the blonde blushed and stared at the ground.

"It's not like that . . . I just need a lot of help around the house right now. With Minato, and Hokage training . . . And . . . Stuff . . ." he wandered off in what he was saying, "So just . . . Hurry up and all that!"

"Sure," Neji said, "I'll bring it all by tonight. Along with some dinner."

"Ramen?" Naruto asked, perking up.

"Of course."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Omg. I hate this chapter. It took me forever to write and I still hate it. I have the next chapter entirely planned out, so I kind bs-ed the seconed half of this one. Sorry. XD

The next chapter will have a good view of a THREE couples. LeeGaa, NejiNaru, and SASUNARU.

Chapter Theme Song: Do You Know - By Enrique Ingles

"Do you know what it feels like, love is so right . . ."


	9. Chapter 9

**Love Rebound: Nightmare**

_Naruto lay on his stomach in the grass at the edge of the river. Fireflies were circling and hovering above the water and around the reeds that lined the banks. Their light reflected off the water and lit up the night sky like a thousand stars floating around him. His eyes closed briefly, as a pair of warm lips brushed against his cheek._

_Blue eyes met onyx ones as Naruto drew in the sight of the dark-spiky haired man beside him. Sasuke was laying on his stomach as well, his chin resting in his hands. He smiled slowly, and his gaze turned to the fireflies once more. "What's with that worried face, dobe?" He asked, reaching out to tussle the blonde's hair. "It doesn't suit you."_

_Naruto smiled, and leaned into his touch. "Sasuke, tebayo . . . I don't think I can do this. Being Hokage. Now that I have the chance . . . It all seems like to much . . ."_

"_Just attack it head on, and try not to think about it," Sasuke said, "just like you always do. And everything will be fine."_

"_And what about . . . What about Neji?" Naruto whispered._

_Sasuke's eyes darkened, filled with something Naruto didn't recognize, but it almost looked like regret. "Neji . . . He cares about you a lot, usuratonkachi. And you-"_

"_I'll loose you," Naruto whispered suddenly. "If I fall for him . . . You'll disappear completely."_

_Sasuke smiled gently, and he reached out to touch the left side of Naruto's chest. "Dobe. I'm always, __always__, right here. And that will never change." He poked Naruto's forehead in a way similar to what his brother had always done. "Never forget that. I'm pretty sure that your heart is more than big enough to share."_

Naruto's eyes flickered open, and he realized it was still the middle of the night. For a moment he wondered what had woken him, since he was usually a sound sleeper. He heard Neji's soft breathing in the bed beside him, and then strained his ears as he heard the faint sounds of crying.

The blonde rose from the bed and made his way out of the room and down the hallway. He crept into Minato's room and the crying grew louder. Reaching into the crib and pulling the baby out, he began making "shh" noises. "Hey . . . What's wrong sweetie?" He murmured, rocking the sobbing child in his arms. "Did you have a nightmare?"

He hugged Minato to him and the crying slowed. "I did too," he whispered. Naruto had stopped calling dreams like the one he'd just had "dreams" two and a half years ago. They were merely illusions to him now. Mean, taunting, nightmares. But they never seemed that way until after he woke up.

After he woke up, it only took him seconds to realize that his reality wasn't as peaceful, as serene, as _perfect_ as that place beside the river in his dreams. He ended up at that river nearly every night. Sometimes Sasuke was there, sometimes it was someone else, like Kakashi or Pervy-sage. But it was a hateful place all the same. A place that only reminded him that so many people he loved were gone.

_Neji shifted his stance, noticing immediately the flare of power from the Houshikage. He whirled around as a ray of purple tinted chakra twisted out of the man and shot towards the cliff's edge. "Naruto!" he screamed, whirling around._

_The blonde looked up, just before the powerful blast hit him square on. The Hyuga ran towards him, time seeming to freeze as Naruto hurtled backwards over the edge of the cliff with a startled gasp. _

"_Narutooo!" Neji yelled, covering his mouth as he reached the edge so as not to inhale the toxic gas emanating from inside the Valley Of Death. "Byakugan!" His powerful eyes scanned the floor of the canyon, desperately searching for Naruto's chakra. He'd run down there if he had to, sacrifice his own life to save him. _

_But he couldn't find him. There was no sign of the younger shinobi in the canyon's depths. "No . . ."_

"_Looking for something?" A voice hissed behind him. _

_Neji whirled around, coming face to face with the red eyes of speaker. His heart shuddered to a halt at what he saw. Sasuke Uchiha was holding Naruto around the waist, pinning the blonde's hand's behind him. He had that long sword of his pressed against Naruto's throat, a malicious look in his eyes._

"_Why do you think that I would have just let you have him?" Sasuke smirked, "Naruto is __mine__." He pressed the sword against the boy's throat. "I'm taking him with me."_

_Neji screamed as Sasuke's sword drew across Naruto's neck, blood splattering the ground._

The Hyuga jolted awake, panting. Over and over again he'd relived that day when Naruto had disappeared beneath the toxic gas in the Valley of Death. And over and over he'd watched Sasuke tear the blonde away from him, taking him to the underworld. He whipped sweat away from his forehead, still trying to regain his breathing. He glanced over to the other side of the bed, and his heart lurched as he noticed the empty space where Naruto should have been.

He got up, trying to quell his panic, and made his way to the most likely place the blonde would be at this time of night, Minato's bedroom. The Hyuga sighed in relief as his eyes came upon the shinobi sleeping on the floor with his back against the crib.

Neji smiled slightly, shaking off the fear that had been lingering with him since he'd awoken. He slipped his arms under the blonde's sleeping form and hefted him up, carrying him back into the master bedroom. "you're a lot of trouble," he murmured, pressing his face into Naruto's hair as he walked. "Shinobi aren't supposed to sleep so soundly, you know. You'll get killed in your sleep."

He lowered Naruto onto the bed and pulled the covers back over him.

"Idiot . . . If you keep making me worry about you, I'll have gray hairs."

Blue eyes cracked open and a smirk crossed the blonde's face. "Then I'll just have to do it more often."

_Gaara lay on a bed of sand as the substance hissed angrily around him. He turned his eyes from the ceiling, to where the sand had suddenly whipped out away from him towards some target. It shot across the stone tiled floor, and Gaara's eyes widened as he saw what it was aiming for. _

_Lee was bent over on the ground, trying to crawl away, blood dripping out of his mouth. Gaara raised a hand to recall the sand, but it kept moving towards the Leaf shinobi. "Stop!" He yelled, but the sand latched itself around Lee's left arm and leg. Gaara struggled to his feet, but could only watch as the sand crushed Lee's arm and leg as it had six years ago._

_The sand began slithering up Lee's body as he screamed, crushing him. The redhead ran towards him, but found that Lee and the sand were getting farther and farther away, instead of closer. "Stop!" He yelled again over Lee's scream of agony. _

_The Kazekage blinked, suddenly finding himself standing where he had been that morning. Facing Sakura, the sand hissing around him. _

"_Why did you have to kill him!" She cried, throwing a kunai at him, only to have it repelled by the sand barrier. "Why did you have to kill Lee!"_

_Gaara stared at her, "kill . . . Lee? I didn't, he's still alive, I-" He looked down at his hands, feeling that they were sticky. His fingers and palms were covered in blood. Gaara's eyes widened and he fell to his knees. This was . . . Lee's blood. __Lee's__ blood. He'd really killed him. _

"_No . . ." he whispered. "No . . . this is wrong, I didn't . . ." He flinched as he heard a dark, dangerous laugh. Shukaku. "This is wrong!" He screamed, fisting his hair in his hands, "Lee's alive! He's alive! I didn't kill him!"_

Gaara jerked awake so swiftly that he fell out of bed. His breathing was heavy as he stared around at his surroundings. This was his room in Lee's house. That meant that it had all been a dream. Right?

The Kazekage stood up and made his way out of the room. Carefully, noiselessly, he made his way into the bedroom across the hallway. Though he didn't really see the point of being quiet at all. Lee was the soundest sleeper in all of Konoha. Gaara placed his hands on the bed and leaned over the sleeping Jonin, sighing in relief. It was only a dream.

_Lee stood rooted to the spot. He couldn't move, couldn't breath. Gaara _

_was . . . Motionless, lifeless. The sand that usually held together as an armor around his body was cracked and falling away. He was dead._

_The Jonin stumbled backwards, pressing his back against the cave wall as his body began to shake. Gaara was dead. He was dead. This was all wrong . . . _

_His dark eyes narrowed in fury and anguish. The Akatsuki. He would kill them, rip ever last one of them into little pieces. _

Rock Lee jolted awake to see the Kazekage leaning over him. _Alive_, Lee reminded himself. Gaara had lived after that day. The world aligned itself for the Jonin, and he realized that Gaara was still in the same position, staring at him.

"Errrr . . . Gaara, are you alright?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed, and Lee thought he saw a spark of relief flash through them. "Fine," the Sand nin whispered finally.

"You're sleeping okay, right?" Lee questioned. "I mean, without

Shukaku . . ." He paused, wondering how the Kazekage would react to the mention of his former demon.

"I can sleep normally, yes," Gaara finished, keeping his emerald eyes fixed on Lee. "I . . . had a bad dream . . . It's nothing." He turned to leave, but stopped as Lee's hand caught him around the wrist.

"When I was younger," Lee said slowly, "when my parents were still alive, I'd sleep in their bed after I had a scary dream." He patted the space on the bed beside him, "nah, Gaara. You can stay, if that's what you wanted. I don't mind. I had a nightmare too."

Gaara kneeled down on the bed beside him, "you did? What about?" He was curious what other people had dreams about, but was also afraid that Lee would answer with something like, "the Chunin exams."

"About you," Lee said quietly. He watched Gaara flinch, and try and pull away with a flash of regret. He jerked the redhead farther onto the bed towards him. "About the day you died," he whispered.

The Kazekage's eyes widened, and then narrowed again. "Why-"

"I was scared for you," Lee said with a smile, "that day, I was so scared that I'd lost you. Even back then, I considered you a friend, Gaara. I have ever since the day you saved me five years ago." He pulled the startled redhead down onto the bed beside him. "Okay? So don't make that face at me like that. Did you really think that I had a dream about the exams just now?" He watched as the Kazekage looked away.

"You made me stronger, Gaara," Lee whispered. "I wouldn't be the Lee I am today if you hadn't attacked me so fiercely then. And I don't blame you for it either. I've told you that before."

"_Let me go! I have to save Sasuke tebayo!" Naruto pulled at the thick spider webs encircling his wrists and feet. His eyes widened as he realized that they weren't breaking. What the hell kind of spider webs were these? He flinched, as he heard the hiss of a Kunai through the air. "Sasuke!"_

_But it wasn't Sasuke who's chakra laden hands cut through the webs binding him. It wasn't Sasuke who's arms wrapped around him protectively before he hit the ground. The blonde looked up at the person holding him as they touched down on a tree branch. "Neji . . ."_

_The Hyuga smiled a faint smile at him, before turning to the rest of the squad. "Keep going. I'm the only one who has a chance against this guy. I'll buy you some time."_

_Naruto's heart skipped a beat. "Wait . . . Neji, you can't-"_

_Neji's hand rose up to touch Naruto's cheek just below the shinobi's eye. "Naruto . . . Sometimes, your eyes can see better than mine. Sasuke is trapped in the darkness, and if you don't hurry, he will be lost forever."_

_The blonde's hand clenched in the older boy's sleeve. No . . . this was a dream. It was a dream. Sasuke was already gone . . . And even though it was only a dream, he could remember the spell tags all around the Hyuga as the medi-nin worked for hours before he was stabilized. He didn't want to see that ever again._

"_Go," Neji urged, his pearl white eyes narrowed in regret. "Sasuke is-"_

"_I'm staying," Naruto whispered. "For now . . . I want to stay with you dattebayo. Sasuke is gone . . ." His grip tightened around the cloth of the shinobi's shirt sleeve. "You're all I have left . . ."_

Naruto awoke to sunlight blazing through his open window. He raised a hand to shield his eyes with a sigh. "Sasuke . . . Tebayo . . . I still don't know. I know that Neji is important to me . . . But, Sasuke . . . I'm still so . . . Lost." He rubbed the hand across his eyes, pushing back tears. "I'm so lost without you . . ."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

It took me forever to figure out what everyone should dream about. The Naruto one's were the easiest. And then the Gaara one. And then I got inspiration for the Neji one. But Lee was so OOC in the Gaara and Akatsuki arc, that I was like "uh . . ."

In case anyone needs clarifying, Gaara's dream was based in the Chunin exams. Neji's dream was in the filler episodes about the Village Hidden in the Stars. Lee's was the Akatsuki kidnap Gaara thing. And Naruto's, (the last one) was when they were chasing Sasuke before he went to Orochimaru. And Neji had to battle that weird Sound Four spider dude.

More NejiNaru fluff and smut next chapter, then focus on Lee again for the one after that.

Chapter Theme Song: Angels On The Moon - Thriving Ivory

"Don't wake me cause I'm dreaming, of angels on the moon."


	10. Chapter 10

**Love Rebound: Destiny**

Naruto twirled around in the blue apron he'd become accustomed to wearing in the kitchen as of late. He, unlike Neji, had always been a morning person. And thus, he was the one who usually made their breakfast.

Minato, being a baby and always up at the crack of dawn, was also awake at the "ungodly hour," as Neji called it, of six in the morning. The weather was growing colder with the month of November dawning, and the sun wasn't even up yet. But Naruto had a mission which he had taken upon himself. That mission being to take care of his baby and make breakfast to surprise Neji.

The blonde finished his little morning dance and began rummaging through the cabinet to look for something edible. He shuffled through the things inside briefly, before changing the thing he was looking for to "something he wouldn't burn". But that narrowed the food down to nothing. He narrowed his eyes in exasperation, and debated briefly whether or not to just wake Neji up. But that would only lead to a very grumpy young man in his house for the rest of the day.

Naruto sighed, and looked at the boxes his lover had labeled, "easy to make" in huge letters for such a situation. He narrowed those down to breakfast foods, and decided to go with the blue box that said Pancakes. He held up the box triumphantly, and said to Minato, "right! Pancakes it is then!"

The dark haired baby laughed and clapped his hands happily. Not that he'd understood a thing his father had said, but as long as the blonde was happy, then so was he!

Naruto began following the instructions, pouring the contents of the box into the biggest bowl he could find, and yet still managing to get a good bit of it on the floor. Undiscouraged, he fished out the items he needed to mix in, adding the water as well as a bunch of chocolate chips. The directions didn't _say_ chocolate chips, but he thought he could just put some in anyways. Then came the eggs. Naruto placed the two white orbs on top of the moist chunky batter.

Now that didn't seem right. The eggs looked like they'd be very hard to mix in like that. The blonde stared at it for a moment longer, before reaching over to his left for the cordless phone where it lay on the counter. He dialed, and waited as it rang with much impatience.

"Naruto . . ." a voice growled form the other end, not even bothering to say hello. As per usual. "Do you know what time it is?"

The blonde grinned, though he knew his friend couldn't see it, "yes I do! And you should be up already Gaara-chan! You should be out running morning laps around Konoha with Lee!"

On the other side of the line, Gaara groaned into his pillow, and cursed both of Konoha's loud enthusiasts. "What do you want Uzumaki," he hissed.

"Demoted to last name status!" Naruto cried in mock horror, leaning against the counter.

"Naruto, I'm hanging up," Gaara said.

The blonde stared at the eggs again, "No! I need help. Quick question, please?" He heard Gaara mutter something, and concluded that as a yes. "Right! So . . . If I'm making pancakes . . . How do I put the eggs in?" He could almost hear Gaara's mental slap.

"You crack them," the redhead muttered as though it were obvious, "down the middle, and pull it open. Put the inside in the bowl and throw the shell away. Good night."

Before Naruto could question the instructions, or state that it wasn't night anymore, no matter how dark it was outside, the Kazekage had hung up.

Half an hour later, Naruto was running back and forth trying to find something to put out the fire he'd involuntarily started. Of course, in his panic, he'd spaced and forgotten that he was in fact a _shinobi_ and could just use a water jutsu. But he didn't. instead, he grabbed the small showerhead from the sink and doused the stove with it.

He couldn't remember how the fourth round of pancakes had caught fire. He'd only zoned out for a few seconds. Or maybe it was minutes . . . He was interrupted in his thinking as Neji stalked into the smoke filled room.

"What the hell Naruto! It's hardly even seven in the morning!" He scooped Minato up form his highchair and covered the child's mouth with his shirt, muttering something about second hand smoke. He glanced at the table, and took notice of the small plate of pancakes in the center. He smiled slightly, and glanced at the blonde. "Were you making breakfast?"

Naruto perked up from where he'd been pouting at his failure. "I was, tebayo! I made some pancakes!" He jumped towards the table and held up the plate, "want to eat them?"

Neji eyed the concoction as though he would an enemy ninja. They were very lumpy, like the blonde had gotten bored with mixing the ingredients halfway through. And there were chocolate chips poking out of them from everywhere. The Hyuga had never been a fan of sweet things at all, but he saw the hopeful look the blue eyed blonde was giving him, and caved. "Sure. Let's eat them together."

They sat around the table, Naruto happily dumping pancakes onto each of their plates. The blonde then turned to cutting Minato's pancakes into tiny pieces he couldn't choke on. Neji said something about giving the baby a sugar high, and withheld the syrup from Naruto for a few minutes until he relented to let Minato eat them plain.

The Hyuga however, stared at the pancakes for a good five minutes before he forced himself to eat one. Mentally cursing the fact that he'd been the one to buy them, and making a mental note to never do so again. He glance up as he chewed, noticing Naruto watching him.

"You don't want syrup either?" Naruto asked. Neji just looked at him, and the blonde put two and two together. "Oh yeah . . . You don't like sweet things . . ." He made a move to take the plate from Neji, but the brunette pulled it out of his reach.

"You made them," Neji said, taking another bite, "so I'll eat them."

Naruto blushed, "you . . . Really don't have to . . ."

Neji smiled, " Aishitaru, Naruto . . ."

The blonde turned an even deeper shade of crimson, and began helping Minato clean the chocolate of his face. Naruto had always known somewhere deep down that he liked boys, but had never been ready to admit it. He knew that he needed someone who was strong, and would let him cry late at night. Someone who could protect him, even when he didn't want to be protected. That's why he'd chosen Sakura as his first crush. Sakura was pretty, and scary when she was angry, which made her tough. And most of all, she was a _girl_.

And then there was Sasuke. Smart, strong, sarcastically mean, Sasuke. Naruto had unconsciously loved him for as long as he could remember. Even when they were little, all the times he'd walked past that little dock on the lake, just to see him. But he had pretended to hate Sasuke, to try and ward off his own feelings. Until the Land Of Waves that is. And yet, even after all they'd been through, all that they knew they meant to each other, Sasuke had still left.

Naruto could still remember the first time he'd seen the raven haired man after their fight at the Valley of The End. How he'd come down off the edge of the cliffs, and put his arm around Naruto. Yes, it had been a ploy to kill him, but even so . . . He could still hear Sasuke's words.

"_Only you . . ."_

The blonde came out of his daydream and looked over to where Neji was washing the breakfast dishes in the sink. "Neji . . . Umm . . ." He took a breath, wanting to ask this question, because he'd never had the chance to ask Sasuke. "Neji, why do you love me?"

The Hyuga looked over at him, slightly startled at the suddenness of the question. He put down the dishes, and faced the blonde, leaning on the edge of the counter. "Random," he said with a smirk, "But you want to know, right?" Naruto nodded. "Alright. I don't mind telling you."

*FLASHBACK* (As narrated by Neji)

_I had always been alone, a lot like Sasuke was. I didn't want the company of others, nor did I really need it. I had bound myself to my own belief in Destiny. And that's all there was to it. I determined my destiny to be carried out alone. My father was gone, and I was treated like I was nothing within the Hyuga household. I didn't want anything from anybody._

_I had fangirls too, believe it or not. And I didn't give them even the time of day. But they seemed to think that me ignoring them was "cool" and "mysterious". Why, I still don't know. But I didn't let them worm their way into my life. _

_I didn't even let my team do that. To me, Lee was just an annoying failure. His daily act of challenging became more of an amusement to show off my own superiority, rather than an actual battle. And I still upheld my belief that it was Destiny for it to be that way._

_And then there was you, Naruto. You stood up to me, where even Lee would not. Challenged me, with my cousin's blood on your hand. Your belief clashed with mine so harshly, that I couldn't breath. You believed that a person could be whoever they made themselves to be. And when I denied that, finally revealing my reason for why I clung so tightly to the idea of Destiny, you . . . You said that you would change that. You promised to change the way the Hyuga clan was set up . . ._

_Naruto, no one had ever done that before. No one had ever bothered to ask why I believed in Destiny. Or bothered to even feel sympathetic towards me at all. Your words left me broken, and after the Chunin exams, I finally began to see the world differently._

_I let myself bond with my team, admitted to Lee that I enjoyed our daily bouts. I even got into the habit of criticizing Gai-sensei about his ridiculous challenges. I was a new person. _

_And you, Naruto, were the one that did that to me. But I wouldn't admit it. I wouldn't admit that I had taken up weird habits because of that either. Like walking past Ichiraku at night, to talk to you if you were there. Of watching you when you trained. You intrigued me, Naruto. But I wouldn't admit it. _

_Then, when we went after Sasuke, I realized it. When Kidomaru encased me in that cocoon, and bound you with his webs. I was so __scared__, Naruto. I was terrified that I wouldn't make it to you in time. And when I caught you, held you in my arms, keeping you safe from him, I knew. I knew that you were the only one that would ever make me go to such lengths, the only one who could push me to my limit._

_But as I set you down on the tree branch, I also knew why we were on this mission. It was because __Sasuke__ was your most important person, and you wanted to get him to come home. So I stayed behind. I wanted you to be happy, above all else, and I let you go to him._

_I was completely prepared to die there in order to fulfill your wish, and I almost did. But when I woke up, Sasuke was gone, and you were alone. I was furious that he had done that to you, and I wanted to just come out and admit that I cared for you more than I should have. But I knew that your eyes . . . Would only ever see him._

_I never wanted his death, Naruto. I wanted him to come home, if only for your sake. Though I knew very well that he never would._

_Do you know, Naruto, that I talked to him? I did, a few weeks before he died. He came to find me while I was out on a mission. He . . . Told me that he would be leaving soon, for good. I was a fool not to have understood him at the time. He wanted to make sure that there would always be people in Konoha who would look after "his dobe" as he said. _

_I told him that there would be. Yet, I also told him that if I ever was with you, Naruto, it wouldn't be because he had asked it. Never that. Not even for my own sake, or I would have done so years ago. But it would be for yours. I told him that you were perfectly capable of standing on your own. And that I would only come to you if I felt you truly needed me._

_And when I saw you crying in front of the memorial, I knew that that day was now. You needed someone who would hold you while you cried, who would assure you that every day, the sun would rise. _

*END FLASHBACK*

Naruto sat in his chair, unsure or what to think. His first thought, was surprise that Sasuke had ever done such a thing, for _his_ sake. And the second thought, was that he no longer wondered why the sun rose every morning, when his most precious person was gone. His blue eyes rose up to meet Neji's pearl white ones form where the Hyuga was watching him across the table. Maybe, his most precious person had changed. could someone even have more than one?

The blonde leaned his head into his hands, his thoughts feeling jumbled like a bunch of different puzzles dumped all in a single box. He shivered as he felt strong arms wrap around his shoulders, and he heard Neji whisper, "don't think about it so much, you'll get a headache."

Naruto smiled, and looked over his shoulder at the older man. The Hyuga couldn't help but feel his heart hammer in his chest at that sincere, small smile. The blonde turned around, placing his hands on either side of Neji's face and pulling him down, kissing him softly on the lips. "Arigato . . . Neji . . . I don't know if I'll ever be able to return your feelings in full, but I do like you."

Neji ran his fingers through the blonde's hair as Naruto hugged him around the waist. "That's enough for me, Naruto." He leaned down, taking the boy's lips with his own in a much more passionate kiss than Naruto's had been. He smiled slightly, as he felt Naruto's grip on him tighten. "

"Minato's in his playpen," Naruto whispered as they pulled apart for a moment. He raised an eyebrow at Neji, and smirked as the Hyuga merely stared at him. "Neji, dattebayo, do I really have to spell it out for you?" When Neji didn't answer, Naruto complied, finding the mater highly amusing. "Neji, let's have s-e-x . . ." he murmured.

The brunette blushed a little as Naruto dragged him towards the bedroom. "N-Naruto . . . It's only eight thirty in the morning . . ."

"So?" Naruto flopped down onto his back across the bed, taking the startled older man with him. "I'm bored, and slightly horny after what you said. So let's see if you can make my second time better than my first."

Neji stared at him with his pearl white eyes, "last time . . . Was your _first _time?"

"Are you calling me a slut?" Naruto joked, pulling the Hyuga down for a kiss.

Neji's hands began to roam up under Naruto's shirt, "no. I just . . ." He decided brining up Sasuke a the moment would be a bad idea, "I'm glad it was with me," he confessed quietly.

"And who was yours with?" The blonde asked as he wiggled out of his shirt, slightly curious.

"With Naruto," Neji murmured, placing gentle kisses down said boy's chest.

The blonde shivered at the feeling, "liar. How did you know all that stuff then?"

"Your sensei lent me some very helpful books when you left for two and a half years with that Sanin," Neji replied, ignoring Naruto's huff of laughter. He was having a grand time undressing the blonde, purposely taking his time with the belt buckle.

Naruto however, was not so patient. He had removed Neji's shirt and was complaining as the man kept his hands at bay from his own pants. "Nejiiii . . ." he whined, "you're driving me crazy!"

"It's my hobby," Neji murmured, pulling the blonde's zipper down with his teeth. "You're cute when you complain about pointless topics." He slipped out of his own pants and discarded their cloths over the edge of the bed.

"It's not pointless," Naruto muttered, "you should act more excited!"

"I am excited," Neji stated, running his fingers along the inside of the blonde's thigh, watching with amusement as Naruto squirmed under his touch. He leaned down, running his tongue along the length of the smaller boy's erection, smirking as the blonde moaned softly beneath him. He reached over to the bedside dresser, slipping his hand into the drawer, and fishing out a small jar he'd bought a few days before.

Naruto stared at the jar, "nah, Neji, what's that?"

"For you," Neji said, coating his fingers with the slick substance inside. "So I won't hurt you as much." He pressed the first finger against the blonde's entrance, and slowly slid it in, bending down to kiss Naruto as a distraction.

"Shit," Naruto breathed, as Neji slid another finger inside and began massaging the muscles loose. "You'd think it would get a little easier . . ." He pulled the Hyuga down and locked their lips together as a third finger joined the first two.

"It's better for both of us if it doesn't," Neji insisted. "It means we're doing this right." he unhooked Naruto's arms from around his neck, wiping his fingers clean on the sheets briefly before clasping their hand together. "Aishitaru, itsumo," he murmured, pressing himself against the blonde.

Naruto hooked his legs around Neji's waist as the older man slid inside him. It hurt considerably less than the first time, but it hurt all the same. The blonde arched his back as Neji pushed in deeper, "ahh! Nejiii . . ."

"Say my name like that once more," Neji murmured, pulling out and slamming into the blonde, making him scream.

"Neji!" Naruto complied, hooking his arms beneath the Hyuga's, his nails digging into the man's back.

Neji shifted his position slightly, searching for the angle that would allow him contact with the spot that would make his lover see stars. He pounded into him again, rewarded with a strangled gasp of surprise as he met his mark. He mentally thanked Kakashi and his books, leaning down to take Naruto's mouth with his own. Licking the blonde's tongue briefly, he pushed into him again, his arms encircling around behind Naruto's back, pulling him closer.

"Let me hear you, Naruto," he whispered, grinding into him, gasping himself as the blonde constricted around him.

Naruto murmured something, pressing his face against Neji's neck, his short breaths hot against the Hyuga's skin. He moaned as Neji connected with that spot again, feeling his muscles pull around the older man's cock even tighter. "Hurry," he whispered, "I can't . . ."

"I know," Neji gasped, pulling the blonde even closer, holding him so tightly as though he'd never let him go. He slammed into Naruto hard again, making him moan louder. He pushed into him once more as Naruto came against his stomach, gasping at the feel of the blonde's inside gripping him from the climax. "So . . . Tight, Naruto," he whispered, hugging the boy to him tighter as he came as well.

Naruto lay panting beneath him, lacing his fingers through his dark brown hair as Neji pulled out. "Are you alright, Naruto?" He asked, leaning down to kiss his lover briefly.

"Daijobu," Naruto whispered as Neji tucked him into the crook of his arm. "I liked it better than last time tebayo."

"So you'd want to do it again then?" Neji asked with a smirk.

"Not right now!" Naruto hissed, "You're too rough! I'm exhausted!"

"Tch," Neji muttered, pretending to be disappointed. "We'll have to work on that." He ran his fingers through the blonde hair, listening to Naruto's tired breathing. "Do you want to nap? I'll take care of the squirt if he starts acting up."

"S'too early in the morning to nap teba . . ." Naruto's words drawled off into nothing as he crashed.

Neji smirked, pulling the boy against his chest. "So stupid . . ." He murmured, pressing his face into the blonde hair.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

I hope u all liked the fluff in this chapter. And yay for more smut scenes! *sarcastic clap*. Even though this is my seconed NC-17 scene I've ever written, the act of writing it is still freaking me out. I hide my face like, "aaaah! I can't believe I wrote that! I'm a pervert!" and then I download all chapters onto my Mp3 player and delete the originals so my parents never stumble upon them. Because then I would have to figure out a way to write this story from beyond the grave. *laughs*

Can someone recommend a GOOD (big emphasis) multichapter NejiNaru fanfic? Normal or alterverse I don't care, as long as Neji is the seme. I read High School, but that one gave me brain damage from all the pairings that I hate. Like TemarixHinata. When the hell did they ever meet? And it had a lemon of that . . . *headdesk* mentally scarred for life now, thankies. Please help cure my shattered brain.

Oh yeah, I used quite a bit of Japanese this chapter.

Aishitaru - I love you

Arigato - thank you

Daijobu - it's okay/ it's alright.

Itsumo - always

Chapter Theme Song: Close My Eyes - Astroline

"I close my eyes, and I tell you how much I care. Then you smile and say to me, "_let me be your destiny_."


	11. Chapter 11

**Love Rebound: Tied To My Heart**

"Mission?" Rock Lee couldn't help the little surprised squeak that entered his voice when he spoke. He'd had a rather unfortunate accident a moth ago, a few weeks before Sakura had dumped him, injuring his bad arm a bit. He was only just back from sick leave today. "An A rank mission, Tsunade-sama?"

The Hokage sighed, "I'm sorry Lee, but we're so busy at this time of year, that I can't have you on C and B ranks right now. You're one of my best Jonin, and a favorite of the royals for body guard missions. I know your arm needs rest, so just try not to do anything _too_ ridiculous." She emphasized the "too", knowing "Lee" and not ridiculous" in the same context was an oxymoron. "Be packed and ready by tomorrow morning, I'll let you have a few Chunin to help you, though I normally wouldn't bother. But I don't really feel like having to patch you up again like six years ago . . ." She waved a hand dismissively, knocking over a large pile of papers on the edge of the desk.

"Oopsies . . . They're all out of order, guess I can't do those today," she said with mock sorrow, smirking as Shizune groaned.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

_Gaara stumbled forward, slipping slightly on the blood soaked ground. He kneeled down beside the lifeless form in front of him, his hands shaking as they pressed against the gaping wound in the person's chest. His eyes flew to the man's face, taking in every feature, from his heavy, dark eyebrows, across his closed eyes, and down to his cracked lips. "Lee . . ." he whispered, desperation in his voice, "You can't die here, wake up you stupid-" _

_Lee's hand rose to cover Gaara's mouth with a silent gesture. A smile traced across the Jonin's lips briefly before he spoke. "Gaara . . . Tasukete . . . Kure shinu . . ."_

_The Kazekage's eyes widened, "No . . . Lee, don't say that. I wont . . ." But the Jonin's hand had already fallen back to the ground, his eyes slipping closed again. "Lee," Gaara whispered, "No . . . Lee! Lee, wake up Lee!" His hands clutched the front of the man's bloodstained spandex desperately, "Leeeeeee!"_

The Sand shinobi jerked awake, sitting straight up in bed, his hand flying to cup his forehead as he forced himself to regain his breathing. It was morning, and he was still in Konoha, he assured himself that with a glance out the window. This was the third night that week that he'd dreamed of Lee's death. And each time, he awoke fearing that it had been true.

Of course the reason he was so afraid for someone else's life was eluding him, but that didn't really matter. He pressed his face into his hands and sighed audibly. If his nights kept on like this, he would be no better off than he had been with Shukaku in his head. The only night he could remember sleeping peacefully the past week was when he'd slept in Lee's bed.

Lee . . . For some reason, he was like a shelter to Gaara. He was the strength and determination the Kazekage needed when he had none of his own. He was the light, like Gaara himself was the darkness. The Suna nin clenched his hands into the sheets of his bed. He couldn't understand how he could even feel something like that. Somehow, since he'd come to Konoha, he'd unconsciously let Lee become something important to him.

He rose from the bed, his mind swimming. He was still half afraid he'd find the Jonin dead once he left the room, but he kept that emotion inside, just as he did any other. He'd never feared death before, even for other people. It was just a fact of life. You were born, and then you died. But when it came to Lee, something inside him tore at the thought of this apartment standing empty.

As he walked into the kitchen, he expected to find his roommate up and cooking breakfast as usual for ten in the morning. But Lee wasn't there. Gaara felt his heart begin to stop as he searched the house for the Jonin, and came up empty handed. There wasn't a note or anything, and Lee was nowhere to be found.

For a heart wrenching moment, Gaara wondered if his dream had been true. He fell to his knees in the center of the room, looking at his hands, trying to detect traces of the blood he thought must surely be there. But there was nothing.

The front door creaked open, and Lee stumbled inside the apartment, his arms laden with grocery bags. His eyes fell upon the redhead, staring at him from where he was kneeling on the floor as though he was looking at a ghost. Worriedly, the Jonin set his bags down and kicked the door shut behind him. He crouched down in front of Gaara, hesitantly putting his hands on the Sand nin's shoulders, knowing the Kazekage wasn't big on being touched.

"Daijobu Gaara? Is something wrong, you look really pale . . ." He raised a hand to the Kazekage's forehead, checking for a temperature. "Anao, Gaara, I think you have a bit of a fever, maybe you should get some rest-"

"No," Gaara hissed suddenly, "I'm fine. I don't need any more sleep." He stood up, brushing Lee's hand off his head. The Jonin stood as well, his grip on the Kazekage's shoulder tightening. Gaara gave the hand a glare, "let go Lee."

Lee blinked, but kept the hand where it was. He'd never had a ton of "survival instincts" to begin with, but he knew that the redhead wasn't going to crush him with the sand anytime soon. "Something's wrong, tell me."

Gaara glanced at the Leaf shinobi, "it's fine now," he said slowly. He forcefully unhooked Lee's fingers from his arm and made his way over to the grocery bags. If Lee was here, then he would be fine. He rummaged through a few of the bags as he helped the Jonin sort things into the fridge. His eyes narrowed further than usual when he noticed that some if the items were the sort of stamina foods shinobi packed for long missions, but he said nothing. Lee as the sort of person who might eat those on a daily basis.

Lee pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge after he'd finished packing the groceries in, pouring himself a glass. Something was definitely off with the redhead this morning. In fact, it had been like this for the past few mornings, just never this bad. And the Leaf nin had the sinking feeling that it would only get worse if he told the Kazekage he would be out on a mission for a good two, possibly three or four weeks. He gulped down the glass of milk with as much enthusiasm as he took with everything else, slamming it down with a hearty, "ah!" Gaara sipped at his own glass morosely, not looking up at the loud behavior from his roommate.

"Gaara-tanuki!" Lee cried suddenly, making the Kazekage jump.

For a moment, Gaara glared at the Jonin. Tanuki was a name for the type of demon Shukaku had been. Like Kitsune was for the Kyuubi. But it was a cutsie, teasing sort of word, rather than a derogatory one. The Kazekage still found it slightly annoying though, even meant in a friendly light. If it were anyone but Lee saying it, he knew he would have squashed them flat already.

"Gaara-tanuki," Lee repeated, "Let's go do something today, yosh?"

"Do . . . Something?" Gaara blinked. Do what?

"Well, after our Taijutsu workout, we can go hang out in the village or something. We could go see a movie, go out to eat . . . Go to the bathhouse . . ." he grinned as Gaara shot him a nasty glare. Yes, that last one would be a definite on the list. He wanted to put off telling his friend about his mission for as long as possible. And it would be nice if he could get said friend to take a bath before he left as well.

"Fine," Gaara relented, "but you're paying."

Lee made a pouty face at this. He had planned on paying anyways, but he wanted to mess with the Kazekage a bit. "Gaaraaaaaa . . . You have so much money though . . ."

"Suna's money, not mine," Gaara stated, raising from his chair to pop a piece of bread into the toaster. He had discovered awhile ago that Lee took pride in giving him a hard time, since most people couldn't get away with it. Maybe it was time for a little payback. "You'll buy me anything I want . . . Right?" He asked, turning to face the Jonin.

Lee smirked, catching on to the tone of Gaara's voice. "If you let me pick out at least one thing, sure."

Gaara frowned. One thing? One thing, what? He had a horrible feeling he was about to regret asking Lee to buy him stuff. The Jonin seemed like a spontaneous shopper. Just as he was spontaneous in everything else he did.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

He regretted it. He regretted it with a loathing passion. Gaara stared at himself in the mirror, cursing under his breath. He was wearing a red and white kimono bearing the same "Ai" mark as his forehead. He ran his hands across the smooth silk the thing was made of. It seemed really expensive, and yet Lee had insisted that this be the thing he bought on the Jonin's request.

"I ordered that a week ago," Lee said behind him, admiring Gaara's reflection in the mirror. "You don't have cloths like this in Suna, right? It's a summer kimono. You'll still be here come July, and you could wear it during our summer festival." He watched the Kazekage glare at his reflection for a moment, "you don't like it?"

Gaara glanced at Lee over his shoulder. Did he dislike it? Truthfully, he thought he looked rather ridiculous wearing it. But on the other hand, he felt extremely happy to be wearing it. It was a gift. Suboku no Gaara had never received a gift before in his life. "No, I . . ." He paused, glancing at his reflection, and then back at Lee. "Doesn't it look stupid though?"

Lee laughed, "No, of course not! It looks great on you Gaara! You look . . ." Lee muttered something, letting the end of the statement fall away. He didn't think that the Kazekage would appreciate someone saying he was cute. And that wasn't something the Jonin really wanted to say in public either.

But Gaara wasn't about to let it go. He was curious now. "I look what?" He prompted.

"Errr . . . You look . . . Very nice . . ." Gaara frowned, knowing that that wasn't what Lee had meant to say at all. Oh well, he'd worm the original sentence out of him eventually, no matter what it was.

Half an hour later, the two left the store with the Kimono safely wrapped in brown paper. Lee was looking at his half empty wallet with slight remorse. Luckily, he wouldn't need a lot of money for the mission, and he'd already stashed some away for that. But Gaara was a heavy shopper indeed. The Jonin was already carrying a good armful of bags.

Said Kazekage of the Sand was currently rifling through a box of keychains at a very flowery-sorta-cute shop . They were various little animals, and he was picking each one up and looking at it as though they were the most interesting thing in the world. "What's this one?" He asked, showing a small keychain of a panda to Lee

Lee did a mental, "_aww, kawaii!_" and took the keychain from the redhead. "It's a panda Gaara. You've never seen one before?"

"The desert doesn't have much wildlife," Gaara stated, shuffling through the box again, picking out more animals he didn't recognize to ask Lee about.

After the fourth or fifth one, Lee made a decision, "Gaara, why don't we go to a zoo sometime? That's where they have all kinds of animals like this for people to look at, real ones. There's one in a village not far from here."

Gaara looked up at him, his emerald eyes interested, "can we go today?"

Lee laughed, "it's to far to go today, sorry. I promise we'll go when I-" He gulped, "when I . . . get back from my mission . . ."

The Kazekage whirled on him from where he'd been paying for the keychains. "Mission?" But Lee was already casually looking at the next shop as though he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. Gaara glared daggers at his back, but the Jonin took no notice. Lee couldn't be going out on a mission just yet, at least not a very high ranked one. His arm had just been injured a month ago.

The redhead became so absorbed in his own thoughts he hadn't noticed when they'd arrived at the bathhouse. As Lee happily dragged him inside, he cursed the fact that he felt so at ease with the ridiculous Leaf nin that he had zoned out. Kazekages shouldn't zone out, and neither should the revered Gaara of the Sand.

As he'd done the last time he was here, Gaara stared at the water for quite a long while before Lee could coax him into the bath. Or push him, as the Jonin decided, sneaking up on the redhead from behind and shoving him into the bath before he could protest.

Gaara really couldn't understand why Lee never cowered from his glare. Everyone else did, even Naruto sometimes. But Lee just laughed, or ignored it. But the Kazekage knew that if looks could kill, the face he made after he resurfaced from the water after Lee pushed him would have.

Lee slipped into the bath after the Kazekage, choking back laughter at how furious Gaara looked. He had little fear of the Sand nin, though in his own right he should have been terrified. He knew that the eyes Gaara glared him down with were still the emerald eyes of the Kazekage of the Sand, and not those of the hurt twelve year old he'd encountered six years ago. He pulled Gaara towards him, still laughing, and began lathering the red locks with shampoo.

"Lee . . ." Gaara growled, "I can do that myself."

"Have you ever done it before?" Lee chided, rinsing out the Kazekage's hair. Hearing nothing but a muttered remark, he proceeded to the conditioner. "Thought so!"

Gaara sulked in the hot water, his body tense even though Lee's hands were massaging his scalp in a very relaxing manner. "How long . . . Are you going to be gone?" He whispered finally.

The Leaf shinobi didn't answer for a moment, busying himself with rinsing the conditioner away. "Two weeks," He said. He left out the fact that if things should go wrong, it could be three, or even four. But the Kazekage was head of Sunagankure, he surely knew such things might happen already.

"What rank?"

"A," Lee said quietly. Why did he feel so guilty telling Gaara that? It was just a mission.

Gaara remained silent until they had left the building, his own thoughts churning in his head like socks in a dryer. He walked behind Lee, his fingers clenched in the gourd's strap across his chest. He found his voice, asking the question that had loomed on his mind since his dream the night before. "Lee, what if . . . You get hurt . . ."

Lee turned to look at the Kazekage, unable to help the small smile that crossed his lips. "Is that what you're worried about?" Gaara looked away pointedly, a look in his eyes that said, "_obviously_". Lee reached out, taking Gaara's hand in his, "Yosh, Gaara. I'm a shinobi of a hidden village. I'm bound to get hurt no matter what mission I go on."

Gaara's hand tightened around Lee's, "what if you die?"

The Leaf shinobi felt his heart shudder at the lost look in the redhead's emerald eyes. "I won't die," he whispered.

"You can't guarantee that," Gaara muttered, his fingers clenching around Lee's bandaged hands even harder. He was debating on whether or not to just refuse to let go when the Jonin had to leave.

"No," Lee admitted, "I can't. But I can try, can't I?" He smiled. When Gaara just stared at him with a "yeah right" glare, Lee began rummaging around in one of their shopping bags. After a few moments, he pulled out a spool of red thread. He'd bought the stuff to retack his headband, but this purpose was much better. He cut six long pieces, quickly braiding them into two small red loops.

He handed one to the bemused looking Gaara, and slipped the other on his own right little finger. "Put it on like this," he said. Gaara did, giving Lee another, "what the hell" look. "Now, draw a chakra string between yours and mine."

Gaara did so, knowing the Jonin couldn't focus chakra at all. "What is this?" He asked as he finished winding the chakra around Lee's ring.

"As long as you wear this, I'll return. You can count on it," Lee said quietly.

Gaara stared at the red thread wrapped around his own finger, following the chakra to the one on Lee's with his eyes. This was a bond. A literal one as well as one that was not so, like Naruto talked about. His fingers reached out to touch the ring on Lee's hand briefly. "Your left. This ring belongs on your left hand Lee," he murmured.

Lee moved the ring to his left hand, feeling slightly confused. "Why the left

Gaa-" His breath caught in his throat as he felt the Kazekage's fingers graze over his left arm, pulling back the green spandex to reveal the crisscrossed, heavy scars.

Gaara bent his head until he was leaning on the bare arm of the Jonin. "I'll believe you more if you put it on this hand." His fingers trailed across the white scars, tracing the pattern caused by sand and shattered bones. "Because the chakra string will fade when you leave. But these . . ." He felt Lee's hand trail down his back and shivered, "these will not. Keep the ring on your left hand, and I'll wait for you to return."

Rock Lee knew it probably wasn't the best of ideas as his arms unconsciously wrapped around the Kazekage, but he didn't care. He slid his arms underneath the gourd, wondering briefly if anyone had ever voluntarily touched the sand container, or the Kazekage himself. That only made his grip on the redhead tighten as he pulled him close. Gaara's right hand stayed wrapped around Lee's left arm, his other gripped the back of the Jonin's green spandex as though he would never let go.

"I promise I'll come back," Lee whispered, clutching Gaara to him even tighter as the Kazekage buried his face in the Leaf's Jonin vest.

"Preferably in one piece," Gaara muttered against Lee's chest.

Lee laughed, "Yeah, in one piece. Even if I have to glue myself back together."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

I feel accomplished. I think that this is like, the only chapter that doesn't have NejiNaru in it since chapter two! *sarcastic clap*

But GaaLee is my favorite pairing. (GaaLee, LeeGaa, whatever. But I prefer Gaara uke.) And I felt I should focus on it. And I got inspiration for this chapter after rereading some xXxHolic and Yukko saying "What is your little finger used for?" So the red thread and the Chakra string is a play on the thing you see in anime all the time with the red thread of Love.

Also, in Gaara's dream, Lee says, "Tasukete . . . Kure shinu . . ." most of you probably wont know this, but it means, "help me to die" which is why Gaara sorta panicked. I have to work on my GaaLee Doujinshi, I have a deadline in less that a week, so no new chapters till I ink and tone that. Which will probably be six or so days. *thumbs up* but if boredom decrees it, maybe sooner.

Chapter Theme Song: Goodbye To You - Michelle Branch

"Tears form behind my eyes, but I do not cry . . ."


	12. Chapter 12

**Love Rebound: Believe**

Gaara slipped a bit as he walked down the street. His arms were wrapped around a large paper grocery bag, while a few more small plastic ones hung off his wrists. The Anbu bodyguards from Suna that had accompanied him here had tried to insist that he hire someone else to do the shopping for him, but the Kazekage refused. Lee had done all the shopping himself before he left, and so Gaara felt it was only right that he himself continue the shopping until Lee returned.

The Kazekage's foot slipped again as he turned the corner onto the street where his and Lee's apartment was. He was really beginning to hate this stupid season. Every morning, ice had practically incased the roads of the Leaf village. Which made running errands, training, or basically anything at all tedious or impossible. And it was cold. Gaara was used to the light chill that came when the sun went down in the desert, but this was different. It was much, much colder. And he hated it.

He'd quickly discovered that putting sand on top of the ice around their apartment made the stupid stuff melt. But it reformed again every morning, so that wasn't much use. And it would take to long to clear a rout with the sand to every place he had to go. So for now, Gaara was just dealing with it.

The redhead was about to climb the stairs up to the front door of the apartment, when he noticed a certain blonde idiot hanging off of the balcony. Naruto was leaning over the edge of the railing, twining some sort of cord around the bars, looping it in and out and then going back over the bars again a bit lower. Gaara could think of at least ten easier ways to do whatever the hell the blonde was doing. And at that precarious position, he would probably fall.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Gaara called, smirking as the blonde jolted and nearly toppled forwards over the railing.

Naruto stood up straight, surveying his work with a grin, before turning to lean over the railing again to look down at the Kazekage. "Gaara tebayo! I'm decorating!"

Gaara made his way up to the apartment, setting down the groceries on the kitchen table before heading out to the balcony to see what Naruto had done.

"Decorating . . . What for?" He asked as Naruto pulled him out to see the handiwork.

"Look, Look! Lights!" The blonde flicked a switch on just inside the door, and the cords wrapped around the railing lit up into flashing strands of red and green lights. "I found them in your place, teba. Lee has a whole fricken closet filled this shit!"

Gaara eyed the lights with his usual stoic expression. They flashed in different patterns, first seeming to chase each other across the railing, then twinkling off and on.

"What are these for?" He repeated, since the blonde had still failed to answer his question.

Naruto did a surprised double take, "Wah! Gaara, don't you know it's for Christmas?!?!" When the Kazekage merely stared at him, the blonde put a hand to his mouth in mock (possibly real) horror. "Le-gasp!" He burst out, "the Sand village doesn't celebrate Christmas?"

The redhead glared at him, his mind whirling. He was mentally picking through the files of information he had stored in his brain, he'd heard of this before, he knew he had. "The second Kazekage outlawed it," he said finally, pleased that he'd remembered.

"Then reinstate it!" Naruto declared, pointing a finger at the gray clouded sky. "Not celebrating Christmas is a crime!" He glanced at Gaara, noticing how the Kazekage was giving him the, "you're ridiculous" expression. "You don't even really know what it is . . . Do you . . ."

Gaara shot him an icy glare, "and I don't really care to, Naruto."

But the hyper blonde wasn't about to relent, "dattebayo Gaara! I can't believe you don't know about Christmas!" He grabbed the Kazekage's arm before he could slip away, a broad grin plastering his face. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

Gaara sighed. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this . . .

"Christmas is when we all hang up pretty decorations, like those lights. And we go out and buy all of our friends and family a gift. We set up a tree, and put those gifts under them, and then on Christmas eve, we open them!"

The redhead stared at him, "no wonder it was outlawed. It sounds stupid."

Naruto narrowed his blue eyes, "teba, it's not stupid! It's magical and amazing, I'll just have to teach you." He dragged the Kazekage into the apartment and down the hallway to an open closet. "We'll start by decorating!" He began pulling stuff out and handing the boxes to Gaara. "This is all Lee's stuff, Gaara. Christmas is his _favorite_." The blonde grinned as he saw Gaara begin to scrutinize the stuff with a little more interest.

Gaara picked up a wreath from one of the boxes. Lee liked this stuff? The redhead couldn't help the slight sigh that slipped from his lips as he examined the wreath. It had been a month today since Lee had left. Counting travel time, plus two or three weeks for the mission, the Jonin was a week late. As the Kazekage of Sunagankure, Gaara was used to his shinobi being late. But even so, it was different, waiting for Lee to return.

The first week of the Blue Beast's mission, Gaara had checked in with the Hokage everyday to see what Lee had reported back. But after that first week, she must have gotten more than a little annoyed, because the entire building had been off limits to him since.

The Hokage wouldn't tell him anything, and he was starting to worry that there was a reason for that.

Gaara stared at the wreath in his hands, "Alright, Naruto. Show me what to do."

The pair spent the rest of the day decorating the apartment form top to bottom, which wasn't to hard since Lee had more than enough stuff to accomplish that. Neji, carrying Minato, came by with a tree after awhile, and they hung all of Lee's weird ornaments on it. There were turtles, and tiny dumbbells. As well as garland that had shiny red letters attached to it spelling out, "youth." Even Naruto admitted that a normal Christmas tree didn't look like that. But they put the things on it anyways.

Neji dug through the boxes for a good twenty minutes, before sneaking something out of one and tacking it to a doorway above the entrance to the main room while Naruto was in the bathroom. Gaara eyed the small dried plant and white berries from a distance, his mind screaming out _"trap, trap, trap!" _from the suspicious way the Hyuga placed it.

When Naruto emerged from the bathroom, shaking his hands free of the sudsy water still clinging to them, Neji strode over to lean against the door frame. As Naruto walked past, the Jonin casually pointed up at the strange plant. Naruto recognized it immediately. "Tch, trapped," He glared at Neji with playful blue eyes. "Very sneaky . . ."

"Sneaky? I wasn't being sneaky at all. If I was being sneaky I'd put it above our bed." He smirked as Naruto blushed a violent shade of red. Reaching out, he caught the short blonde boy's chin with his hand, tilting his head up. Neji took hold of Naruto's lips with his own. "Christmas tradition," the Hyuga said as he pulled away.

Naruto glared up at the mistletoe with loathing. "I'm not using the bathroom again until we get home," he muttered, his face still bright red.

Gaara merely stared at them as this whole incident took place. And the only thought he had about the matter was, _"never walk through a doorway without looking first ever again." _"What other things are we supposed to do for this holiday?" He asked as Naruto hung one of the many wreaths on the wall.

The blonde leaned back until he was staring at Gaara upside-down. "Well . . . Christmas eve is in two days. So you need to get presents for people dattebayo." When the Kazekage gave him a blank look, Naruto whirled around and flashed a thumbs up sign at him, looking very much like Lee. "Right! So tomorrow, you and I will go shopping!"

"Count me out," Neji called from the kitchen, where he was giving Minato a baby carrot to chew on.

"You weren't invited in the first place!" Naruto yelled.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Gaara walked down the ice covered streets of Konoha the following morning. Naruto skipped ahead of him, jumping from store to store at a rapid pace. The Kazekage had soon realized that, as per usual, the blonde had waited until the last second to do something. In this case, buying his Christmas presents for all his friends.

Naruto held up a small stuffed panda, "will Hinata like this?"

"Sure," Gaara said, not really caring, or paying attention.

"What about this thing of cigars for Shikamaru?"

"Sure."

"And this chip of the month thing for Choji?"

"Sure."

"How about these dog biscuits for Akamaru? Do you think Kiba eats them too?"

"Sure."

"And this pair of sunglasses for Shino?"

"Great."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the redhead, "and some porn for Gaara?"

"Great."

The blonde rolled his eyes, waving a hand in front of the Kazekage's face, "Come on Gaara! Wake up and pay attention!" He waited as Gaara turned glazed emerald eyes to him. "What's wrong with you lately? Only I'm allowed to zone out to Ramen Land. But you seem to be trying to build a house there. What's going on?"

Gaara blinked slowly at him, "Ramen . . . Land? What the hell is that?"

Naruto sighed, "never mind . . ." He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Tebayo, Gaara. Are you worried? About Lee?"

The Kazekage jerked away from the Leaf shinobi's touch, "no, I'm not." He faced the nearest store, and pushed his way inside, not waiting for Naruto to follow him. He ignored the blonde as the Leaf shinobi followed him. Instead, he focused his attention on buying gifts.

He didn't have as many people to buy for as Naruto and his seemingly _village_ of friends, but he did have a few. He picked out some miniature wooden figures for Kankuro, knowing that the Sand nin loved the small versions of puppets just as much as his life-size killer models. He bought a delicate necklace of seashells for his sister Temari, knowing they were her favorite though their home was far from any ocean.

He chose a few different cook books for Naruto, remembering that the blonde had been trying his hand at the craft this past month. For Minato, he purchased a large stuffed kitsune almost as big as the baby himself. He decided against getting Neji anything, mostly because he didn't know what the hell he'd even get.

And for Lee . . . Gaara slowly scanned the inside of the store they were currently in, noticing the shiny arrays of various metalwork. He walked around the display shelves, eyeing things from small metal animals, to different types of Kunai with spikes or twin blades.

His eyes caught the glint of a stand of necklaces as they reflected the light of the setting sun. He strode over to them, turning the stand to examine the pieces. Gaara trailed his fingers across one in particular. A small red metal heart held up by a jade green chain. He motioned for the store owner, "can you engrave something like this? I'll pay extra."

"Sure, sure!" The middle aged man said happily, "What would you like for me to put on it?"

"The Leaf Village symbol on one side . . ." the redhead hesitated, "and the name "Lee" on the other."

"You're worried," Naruto stated as they headed home in the light of the dieing sunset. The blonde stared up at the sky as they walked, thinking. "I think I'm gonna have a party tomorrow. A big ol' Christmas party."

"What for?"

Naruto grinned, "just cause." He looked up at the sky again, "I wonder . . . If it will snow tomorrow . . ."

"Snow?" Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. The Sand nin had never seen snow before, and wondered why it was so important that it snow tomorrow.

The blonde noticed the look, "they say, that if it snows on the night of Christmas Eve, that your wish will come true in time for Christmas day, Gaara. I think that for you, if it snowed tomorrow, Lee would definitely come home." He smiled, "it's not like him to miss Christmas anyways. Especially not when we have so much fun sneaking sake into Neji's eggnog every year."

Gaara looked up at the darkening sky, "if it snows . . ." He glanced at Naruto out of the corners of his dark rimmed eyes, "and what would you wish for?"

Naruto smiled faintly, "I don't know," he admitted, "I wished for the impossible the past two years. But this time . . . I'm not sure what I'd wish for, tebayo."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Sorry it's sucha short chapter. But I want this little arc to be split into two parts. Otherwise the purpose is defeated. *sigh* new chapter soon.

Btw, Ramen Land is like Naruto's version of LaLa Land. Aka, a daydream.

Also . . . Anyone who contradicts my x-mas theme, dies. Unless you have CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. I had an image in my head that will conclude the next chapter. And because I needed snow for the scene, and realized that a month after Lee left would be nearly Christmas (I don't plan these things, no joke.) I went with Christmas. I know Japan isn't super Christmassy, and they celebrate it different than we do. I tried to incorporate that with the one gift per person thing. And with them celebrating it on Christmas eve. I'm not religious, so that's not why I added it. I don't even go to church. And I went to a Jewish preschool when I was little. So, no religious subtext here. XP

Chapter Theme Song: Believe - Polar Express Movie

"We were dreamers, not so long ago . . ."


	13. Chapter 13

**Love Rebound: Nowhere I'd Rather Be**

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin as Neji grabbed him from behind. The short blonde had been in the kitchen, trying his hand somewhat successfully at making a cake for that day's party. At least he was before Neji had snuck up behind him, like the oh so stealthy ninja he was, and grabbed the blonde around the waist from behind. Naruto inhaled a sharp breath that ended in a tiny squeak of surprise, as the Hyuga spun him around, still safe in his arms.

"Neji!" the blonde struggled in the older man's grip, "I'm trying to make a cake tebayo! You nearly gave me a fricken heart attack!" He glared over his shoulder at the smirking brunette. "You set up the tree, right? And put Minato down for his nap? And went to the liquor store? And got some chips at the supermarket?"

"Done, done, done, and done," Neji stated, leaning down to place a light kiss on the blonde's neck. "Just one more thing left to do."

"And what would that be?" Naruto asked, staring at the wooden spoon in his hand, contemplating hitting Neji with it.

Neji trailed a hand down the blonde's chest down to his waist, pulling the younger boy back against his own body. "To play with Naruto," he smirked.

The blonde's face broke out in a dark shade of red, "not right now! I have to finish this cake and-" he shivered as Neji ran his tongue down the side of his neck, "and people will be here soon."

"Then we'll have to hurry," Neji teased. He intercepted the wooden spoon aimed at his face and threw it to the ground. "I've wanted to do this for awhile now. You just look so cute when you're trying to cook with that apron on." He undid said apron's strings and sent it to give the spoon some company on the floor.

"Seriously Neji . . ." Naruto gasped as the Hyuga backed him against the counter.

Neji ignored him, "I think that Cooking Naruto will be my new favorite, nah?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, "what? What the heck was your old favorite then? I don't get you."

"Hmmm . . . That would have to be . . ." Neji raised pearl white eye to him as he slowly slipped down the blonde's pants, " . . . Naked Naruto."

The Kyuubi bearer narrowed his eyes, "that's stupid, since you have to have both right here."

"I like both," Neji insisted as Naruto wrapped his arms around him just below his own. "Because they're both you."

Naruto blushed, a slight smile on his face, "that sounds even more stupid." He shuddered as Neji ran a hand down his cock, "Waitah . . . Ah! Neji, wait a second, how are we going to do this? I mean-"

Neji smirked and levered Naruto farther up onto the kitchen counter, "Hold onto me," He murmured, kissing his lover at the end of the sentence. "Don't worry, I can hold you up." He placed a hand around the blonde's back, pulling him up farther, letting Naruto twist his legs around the Hyuga's waist.

The blonde reached down with one hand and undid Neji's pants. "Tebayo,

Neji . . . Hurry up, I'm going crazy."

The Hyuga kissed him again, purposely drawing it out, "you say that every time. Why's that?"

Naruto pressed his face against the side of Neji's neck. "Can't help it," he whispered, "you're just . . ." he curled his fingers into the back of the Hyuga's shirt,

" . . . you're so damn hot, you make me insane, Neji. I want you all over me, all the time. And it makes me feel like my insides are on fire." He took Neji's face in his hands, kissing him fiercely. His tongue pushed past the his lovers lips, licking Neji's briefly.

The brunette had been rummaging around in a drawer for anything to use as a lubricant, and was in a state of shock as Naruto kissed him so boldly after saying those things. Actually, he'd gone into shock after hearing those things. And suddenly, Naruto's grip on him had tightened, and Neji gasped into the blonde's mouth as the younger boy pulled himself down on top of him.

Neji's legs nearly gave out beneath him, and he pushed Naruto farther back against the counter. His hands rose to grip the back of the boy's now very rumpled shirt, and the other twining tight fingers into his blonde hair. "That was . . . Really stupid," He gasped out, instinct gripping him as he pulled out and dove inside the blonde again. "I could really hurt you like that."

"It's fine," Naruto breathed against his neck, ending in a sharp intake of air as Neji pounded into him. "I heal really fast, no matter what you do to me." He clutched at the Hyuga's back, his nails nearly raking through the cloth of his shirt as the older man slammed into him again, harder than ever. "I wanted you, all of you. And you were taking too long."

" I know, cause you said you have other," Neji halted his words as he pressed in again, grinding into that spot that made Naruto scream, "Have other things to do."

Naruto's breathing was heavy and short, "but there's . . . Ah! Right there!" he tightened his grip on Neji, his breath coming on short gasps, "there's nowhere I'd rather be right now, Neji! AH!"

The Hyuga's fingers slipped underneath Naruto's shirt, trailing over the tattoo above his heart. He moaned as the blonde's insides squeezed around him, Naruto nearing his climax. "Aishitaru, Naruto. Arigato," He pushed into him again as the younger boy came hard against his lower chest. His grip around him tightened, and he slammed into him once more, releasing himself as well.

Naruto's arms went slack against Neji's back as the Hyuga slid down to the floor to his knees. "You really wear me out, tebayo," he complained quietly. He waited as Neji pulled out and began helping him up onto his unsteady legs. "Go change," he said, "or everyone's gonna notice."

The brunette narrowed concerned eyes at him, "nah, Naruto, will you be alright?"

Naruto grinned, "yeah, just hurry up and change clothes, I need to get out of mine too. I just gotta finish frosting this cake." He reached up and pulled the Hyuga down for a reassuring kiss.

As Neji left the room, the blonde returned to decorating his white and red cake, his mind elsewhere. _"There's nowhere I'd rather be right now"_. "I said that . . . Didn't

I . . ." He leaned his head into his hand, wiping away the seat that had accumulated there a few minutes ago. "I'm . . . falling for him, aren't I . . ."

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Gaara leaned against the wall of Naruto's apartment. At this moment in time, he was really regretting that he'd agreed to come to the blonde's party at all. There were too many people here for his liking. The entire rooky nine, plus former team Gai, minus Lee. As well as a few others, like Konohamaru's squad and various teachers from the academy. Even Ibiki, from whom even Gaara of the Sand kept his distance.

And Naruto had given him all these stupid rules too. He'd made the redhead arrive early just for explanation of said rules. When Gaara had arrived, he'd found the blonde in the middle of changing into some fresh clothes, very red in the face when the Kazekage had asked why.

One such said rule, was that he was not allowed to have the gourd. The item was locked in Naruto's bedroom at the moment. The second rule was that Gaara had to dress nicely. Thankfully, Naruto and the Kazekage were the same size, so Naruto had dressed him in some casual pants and a loose fitting shirt. Gaara resented this, tight clothes were easier to move in should there be trouble. But Naruto had insisted that, _"uke's wear baggy clothes. It's soooo moe!" _Whatever the hell that had meant.

The Kazekage jumped as a hand slapped his shoulder, "yo little bro! I can't believe you're at a _party_!"

Gaara glared up into the purple painted face of his older brother, thinking, _neither can I_. "Are you drunk?" He asked, recognizing that glazed, red faced look his brother wore.

"So drunk!" Another voice piped up. Kiba Inuzuka wrapped his arms around the Suna Jonin's chest from behind with a broad grin. "And we didn't even have to slip him anything! Isn't that great!" He wiggled his eyebrows at Gaara, "now we just have to get him a liiiiittle bit more booz and see if he starts stripping or something!"

Gaara rolled his eyes, "great. What do you mean, 'slip him anything'?"

Kiba giggled pointing across the room, "lookie over there. Naruto's been spiking Neji's drink since the party started!"

Gaara looked, his eyes widening upon catching sight of the tall brunette waltzing around the opposite side of the room with Naruto. The blonde laughing hysterically.

The Kazekage smirked slightly. Naruto hadn't been lying when he said he and Lee liked to spike Neji's eggnog, though Gaara had his doubts the stuff was completely free of alcohol in the first place. The redhead's tiny smile fell. Lee . . .

The Jonin still wasn't back yet, and it was already a little after eleven. It didn't look like he'd be coming at all. _"If it snows on the night of Christmas Eve, that your wish will come true in time for Christmas day . . ."_

Gaara fingered the small, heart shaped pendant in his hand as he made his way towards Naruto's big glass back door leading out to the fourth story porch. He slid the door open, stepping out into the frigid night air and closing it behind him. His eyes rose up to the sky, drinking in the flickering light of the north star peaking out between the clouds. _If it snows . . ._

The Kazekage blinked as something cold and wet landed on his nose. He drew his eyes upwards again. _It couldn't be . . ._ But as he stared long and hard up at the sky, he noticed the soft, white, glittering, crystallized drops drifting slowly down from the heavens. Gaara stood rooted to the spot as the flakes began sticking to the railing his hand was on, and falling down even farther to the streets below. Looking up into the light flurry, it was as though the sky was dropping its countless stars.

The glass door behind him flew open, "it's really snowing!" Naruto gasped, rushing out to catch the railing and lean back to look up into the falling snowflakes. "Amazing! Gaara, you made it snow! It hasn't snowed on Christmas since I was little!"

He turned a broad grin to his friend, "what did you wish for?"

Gaara shook his head slowly, "it's not . . . Going to come true. You said in time for Christmas day, right? It's eleven-fifty . . ."

Naruto's blue eyes wavered with sympathy, "He's coming back, Gaara. I know he is . . ."

The redhead's right hand trailed across the small, thread woven red ring on his left little finger. "I'm not so sure anymore," he whispered. As his hand touched the string, he jolted, feeling a sudden light flare of chakra. His eyes widened as he turned to look down the street, towards the direction of Konhagankure's main gate. The chakra flared again, and Gaara answered it with a burst of his own.

Naruto leaned over the railing, following the redhead's eyes. "What are you doing? Flaring your chakra like that, I didn't sense anything . . ."

Gaara ignored him, bending over the railing and peering down into the darkness at the far end of the street. His heart stopped as he caught sight of a figure walking across the snow-covered ground, the bright green of his clothes unmistakable.

The Kazekage ignored Naruto's startled gasp as he vaulted over the edge of the railing and down onto the white powdered street. His feet hit the ground running. Something inside him was controlling his body, Gaara of the Sand didn't act this way. But realizing that, he still ran. His mind was screaming that that figure ahead could be anyone, even a disguised assassin, but he didn't care.

Lee heard the rapid footsteps from where he was trying to shake some snow out of his dark black hair a block or so from Naruto's apartment. The storm had kept with him the entire way home, and even though he loved snow on Christmas, he was rather getting tired of it. His head jerked up as he heard the sound of someone approaching him, his hand reaching back to his weapons holder, instincts of the mission still with him. But his eyes widened farther than usual as he caught sight of the Kazekage of the Sand running towards him.

"Gaara?" Lee felt his footsteps quicken upon seeing the redhead. Even though he'd felt the younger shinobi's chakra earlier, he hadn't expected to find his friend running towards him. "Gaara?" Lee repeated, racing towards the Kazekage.

Gaara gasped as Lee's arms wrapped around him in mid step, the older ninja hoisting him up into the air, twirling around with a huge grin on his face.

"Hahahaha! Merry Christmas Gaara!" Lee's arms tightened around the Kazekage as Gaara leaned against him, his feet not even touching the ground.

"Merry Christmas, Lee . . ." Gaara whispered. He reached up, looping the jade hued metal chain around the older ninja's neck, letting his fingers trail down to the heart pendant at it's center.

"This is for . . . Me?" Lee breathed, watching as Gaara turned it to reveal the Leaf and name. He shivered as Gaara leaned his head dwon to rest on his shoulder, still tucked securely in Lee's arms. The Leaf Jonin turned and pressed his face into the Kazekage's red mop of hair, "it reminds me of you."

Gaara glanced at him and raised his head again so that he could look straight into Lee's eyes. "What?"

"It's a little red heart," Lee said, loosening an arm from around the younger shinobi, still holding Gaara off the ground. He trailed bandaged fingers across the red "ai" mark on the boy's forehead. "Like this."

The redhead stared at Lee, his breath halted. Since he'd placed it there, that tattoo had only ever symbolized his own self love, like the meaning of his name. But Lee had just . . . He'd somehow, suddenly, changed it into something different. Something less painful.

His hands unconsciously trailed up from where they'd been on Lee's shoulders up to the side of the Blue Beast's face. He let them stay there, watching the surprised, and yet strangely unafraid expression Lee made. Lee had never once been afraid of him. Not even back when they'd fought in the Chunin exams. Not once. Lee was the only one, even Naruto had been frozen with fear when they'd first talked. But not Lee . . . Never Lee . . .

Some sort of unknown instinct took hold of Gaara at that moment, one he didn't even known he had. For someone like him, a former _monster_, it didn't seem possible that he would have it. Gaara tilted his head, his hands tracing the lines of Lee's face as he leaned down. His lips met Lee's, cold from the snow falling around them.

Lee's eyes widened so far he thought he might have sprained a nerve in them. His grip on the redhead slowly tightened even more in his state of semi-shock. He watched as Gaara pulled away a moment later, a confused look on the Kazekage's face.

"What . . ." Gaara couldn't find any words, his fingers caressed the side of Lee's face, "I don't . . ."

"It's okay," Lee whispered, "I don't really get it either . . ." He smiled reassuringly, "but I liked it." He lowered the Kazekage until his feet touched the ground.

Gaara looked up into Lee's eyes, "so it's okay?"

"Yes," Lee breathed, leaning down to take Gaara's mouth against his own.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Yaaaaayyyy! Finally some good actual fluff for the slow paced Gaara and Lee. They're so slow at their relationship because Gaara doesn't really understand love, or know all the stuff that Naruto knows. And I started the chapter out with smut . . . T3T

I think it'll still be Christmas next chapter too. Hehehehehehe . . . Why do I think of snow in the summer? *sigh* so weird. Also, try looking straight up into a dark night sky next time it snows, straight up. You'll understand what Gaara was seeing.

Chapter Theme Song: Gotta Be somebody - Nickelback

"So I'll be holding my breath, right up till the end. Until that moment when, I find the one that I spend forever with . . ."


	14. Chapter 14

**Love Rebound: Touch**

Naruto leaned over the railing, smiling as he watched Gaara run out into the snow towards the distant figure of Rock Lee. "Good," he whispered.

"What's good?"

Strong arms wrapped around the blonde's waist as someone leaned against his back. Naruto didn't look up, recognizing the voice. "Look down there."

Neji looked over the blonde's shoulder down the road, catching sight of the pair out on the snow covered streets. "Oh? That's interesting." He pressed his chin against the top of Naruto's head, "nah, Naruto, are you lonely?"

The blonde tilted his head back to catch Neji's lips against his own. "Dattebayo, Neji. I'm alright." He smiled as Neji kissed him back, "did I look lonely?"

"You did," Neji whispered, leaning down to kiss the blonde's cheek.

Naruto smiled softly, leaning into his touch, "I was just a little . . . Sad. Gaara's my best friend. And I know that we might not get to hang out as much . . . Not that we did anyways before last month, Kazekage and different villages and all that tebayo."

"_Best _friend?" Neji questioned, trying to sound criticizing over his half drunk smile. "And what am I?"

"Other best friend," Naruto murmured, turning so that he could kiss the taller man properly. "With benefits," he added with a laugh.

Neji glared at Naruto, "okay then, the '_friend with benefits_' requests said benefits now." He pulled Naruto closer, kissing him deeply.

Naruto made a face, "we just did it a few hours ago Nejiiii! Wait awhile or I'll die!" He grinned as Neji eyed him with annoyance, "anyways, we haven't exchange gifts yet!"

"Make sex your gift," Neji insisted, pressing his lips to the smaller boy's again.

"Nooooo . . ." Naruto scolded, "later." He waggled a finger at his lover, grinning from ear to ear. With his other hand, he drew out something from behind his back. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands." He waited as Neji grudgingly did so, and slipped something over the Hyuga's fingers.

"Gloves?" Neji said, opening his white eyes and staring down at the green material on his hands.

"I made them, tebayo. It took me a long time, good thing I didn't try to make a sweater."

Neji held up his hands, "this is all that's left of the sweater you tried to make then, isn't it." He smiled one of his characteristic half smiles as Naruto laughed apologetically. "Arigato, Naruto."

Naruto smiled, "he . . . So what did you get for me?"

The brunette smirked, "it's a secret . . ." he murmured, leaning down to kiss Naruto softly. "I can't give it to you right now, since you said we can't do it until after the party."

The blonde's eyes narrowed and his mouth hung half open, "what? What the hell kinda weird ass thing did you get me? If it's some kind of sex toy, I'll kill you."

Neji chuckled, "hahaha . . . No. just wait and see."

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Lee stared up at the snow falling from the sky as he walked down the dark, slick street towards his apartment. His brain felt all muddled, and his only coherent thought seemed to play over and over again in his head. _Gaara kissed me. The Kazekage of Sunagankure kissed me. I must be hallucinating._

The Leaf Jonin glanced at the redhead walking beside him. The past month he'd been away from the village, Lee had given a lot of serious thought towards Gaara. Somehow, after the Kazekage had arrived in Konoha, Lee had gone from thinking of him as an acquaintance, to a friend, and then having weird thoughts about him that didn't pertain to either. Such as thinking that the redhead was cute while wearing that summer kimono. Or that he wanted to be someone who made Gaara smile.

While away, Lee had given these matters some very serious thought. He'd sorted everything he thought about Gaara onto different sides of the Reality/Fantasy mental line. And not long after, came to realize the possibility that he might actually have feelings for the Kazekage.

But he'd stopped those thoughts there. In his mind, there had been no conclusion to them. Because he'd never imagined that Gaara could ever like him back. Being friends was one thing, but was Gaara even capable of feelings connected to the heart?

And yet, somehow, just a few moments ago, Gaara had completely shattered the barrier of the Reality/Fantasy line, and proven Lee wrong. Now the Jonin's thoughts were all jumbled together, the means to sort them out lost.

As they walked, Lee glanced at the redhead out of the corner of his eyes. Gaara was staring ahead, lost somewhere in his own confused thoughts. Looking vaguely worried in a way Lee knew only he'd be able to pick up on. The Leaf shinobi smiled, and reached over with his right hand, the one closest to Gaara, and slipped that hand into the Kazekage's own.

Gaara looked up at him, slightly startled. Lee grinned, and twined their fingers together. "Yosh, Gaara. Daijobu, thinking about it too much will give you a headache." With his free hand, he reached behind him and pulled something out of his travel bag, wrapping it loosely around the Kazekage's neck.

Gaara looked down at the item, running his other hand across the soft cloth. "What . . ."

"It's a scarf," Lee explained, "I got it for you, because the sand can't protect you from the cold." He smiled, and pulled at Gaara's hand and led him down the street again. Reminded of the sand, he asked, "where's the gourd?"

The redhead frowned, "Naruto's house. He made me leave it in his room during the party. He'll probably be mad if I leave it there."

"Do you want to go back and get it?"

"No," Gaara replied, feeling somehow that the moment would be lost if they walked into a loud room full of drunk guests. He snapped his fingers, releasing the chakra that held the gourd together. "There," he said, "I dispersed it. It'll show up at your place later."

Lee smiled, imagining hat it would have been like for Neji and Naruto to walk into their room after the party to discover Gaara's ominous looking gourd on the floor. Cue dramatic horror music. Lee chuckled a little as they walked up the stairs and into the apartment at the idea. He let go of Gaara's hand and undid his bag from his back, leaning it against the wall. He opened the top of it and pulled out a box.

Gaara watched him from a few feet behind, wondering what he was doing. Lee was holding the box and slowly opening it, whispering something that wasn't meant for the redhead's ears. The Jonin looked over his shoulder at the Kazekage with a smile.

"Gaara, come here. I got you something, a Christmas present." He watched as Gaara looked down at the scarf still wrapped around his neck, "that's just a gift, this is what I got you specifically for today." He waved a hand in a "come, come" motion.

The redhead approached him slowly, curious as to what Lee had gotten for him. The older shinobi turned , taking one of Gaara's hands with his own, the other holding something against his chest. Slowly, careful not to startle the Kazekage, he lowered the thing into the redhead's lap, keeping his grip on Gaara's hand reassuringly.

The Kazekage stared down at what he'd been presented with, eyes widening further then they had when Minato had been in his lap. Sitting on his legs, was a tiny, blue eyed, silver-blue furred kitten. It stared up at him curiously, pawing at his leg for attention. Gaara stared right back at it, hardly even breathing.

Before the Akatsuki had nearly killed him and taken Shukaku, animals had all cowered in fear from him. And since then, Gaara hadn't really tried to see if that effect had diminished, but now it seemed it had.

"Do you like her?" Lee whispered, "I got her for you at store in a town I passed through a few days ago." He watched as Gaara looked down at the kitten, his free hand twitching slightly. "You can pet her, Gaara. She's very clam and quiet, she wont be afraid."

Gaara slowly reached out and ran a tentative hand across the fur on the kitten's back. She arched up with a purr into his touch, and his emerald eyes widened even further.

"What are you going to name her?" Lee asked, reaching out to touch the tiny kitten as well.

The redhead stared at the kitten as he pet her, thinking hard. He'd never had a pet before, so he had no idea what to name one. He wanted to give her a name to remind him of something important, something special. His mind shifted back six years, to the month between the second and third round of the Chunin exams. To the moon he'd looked up at every night as he sat on the roof two buildings away from Konoha's hospital, wondering what it meant now that someone had gotten through his sand barrier. "Hatsumi," he said quietly.

"Hatsumi?" Lee asked. It was a name using the characters for "first" and "water". Lee's mind skipped to when Gaara had first come to Konoha to stay a few months ago. _"It's water. In order for there to be life in the desert, there must always be water." _"Any special reason you chose that name?" He asked.

"To remind me that the person who gave her to me . . ." Gaara looked up into Lee's eyes, "was the first drop of rain that began to wash away the darkness inside of me."

Lee blushed. His hand not already twined with Gaara's trailed up to the back of the redhead's neck, pulling him close and brushing their lips together. "Arigato, Gaara."

He pulled away slightly, leaning his forehead against the Kazekage's, "it's alright . . . To touch you like this, right?"

Gaara blinked, his hand tightening around the Jonin's wondering if Lee was going to pull away from him. "Yes," he whispered, "I don't really understand it . . . But

I . . . I like having you near me . . ."

The Leaf nin smiled gently, "then, let's figure out what it is _together_, Gaara. Okay?" He stood up, taking Gaara with him. Together they set up an area in the living room for the kitten to sleep, and left her there.

Lee left the Kazekage to get ready for bed, and made his way to the bathroom. After taking off his spandex and changing into some sweatpants, he turned on the sink and began pouring water over his hair and shoulders. Shaking some droplets from his dark hair, he leaned over the sink with a sigh.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening. Normally, if someone had just suddenly kissed him like that, even a girl, he would have freaked out. But he hadn't. And Gaara was a . . . was a _guy_, just like he was. His one true love before now had been Sakura-san. He didn't like guys, did he? Something at the back of the Jonin's mind poked him, whispering, _Neji._

"Lalala, not listening!" Lee muttered. But it was too late, he remembered. Or rather, he hadn't been willing to burry the thought enough to forget. Challenging Neji all the time wasn't just a way to try and prove his strength, it had been a way to try and deny the fact that he found the other boy attractive. But it had never gone beyond that, he didn't let it. He didn't let it get past dreaming and fantasy.

And he'd been planning to do the same with Gaara, keep anything he felt for the redhead on the Fantasy side of the mental line. And now that something had happened, he didn't know what to do.

Did he like Gaara? Well, kissing him earlier, on pure instinct should have been a nice indicator of that. And Lee could still remember when he'd first felt his heart hurt for the young redhead. When Gaara had tried to kill him in the hospital, and told Naruto and Shikamaru why he felt killing proved his existence. Back then, Lee had wanted to just leap out of bed from where he was pretending to sleep and wrap his arms around him. He could remember the way Gaara had looked at him when they'd met again six months later. The way the redhead had stared at the blood dripping down Lee's left arm with emerald eyes full of guilt.

And he remembered how he'd felt after that. After watching the way the Sand shinobi moved and fought, with such strength and power no one alive could have matched. He remembered standing in the shower, thinking about that, when he'd unconsciously begun touching himself. At that moment, the younger Lee had come back to reality, and turned the shower on to cold, drowning out those thoughts for nearly and hour under the cold spray.

Lee slowly raised his eyes to look at himself in the mirror, his mind falling upon the final memory. A memory of three and a half years ago, when he could only watch as they said that the Kazekage had died. And he'd just left. Pretending it didn't matter, pretending that inside he wasn't screaming, crying in some unknown anguish he couldn't understand.

He remembered walking ahead of the group as they left Naruto and his squad behind with Gaara's body. He remembered how no one had seemed to notice anything unusual about him. No one except Neji. The Jonin had approached Lee, worry in his white eyes, laying a hand on the Chunin's shoulder.

"_Lee, what's wrong? You're acting weird."_

_Lee turned to look at him, watching as Neji's eyes widened seeing the tears that had begun to leak out of his friend's eyes. "It's nothing . . ." Lee whispered, trying to smile and rubbing his eyes, "it's nothing, I'm . . . I'm fine . . ."_

_But he wasn't fine. Gaara was gone. He was gone, and he was never coming back. And there was nothing he could do. He remembered the remorse and realization in Neji's eyes as he watched Lee break down completely. How the Jonin had covered Lee's mouth with his shoulder as the shinobi screamed in agony, so that Gai and Tenten wouldn't hear from where they were up ahead. He remembered how long they'd stood there in the road like that, Lee screaming against Neji's shoulder, and the Jonin merely holding onto him for support._

Lee wiped away a tear that had trickled down his cheek from merely the memory of that awful day. He would never let that happen again. He would protect Gaara with his life, from now on. No one would ever hurt the Kazekage again.

The Jonin made his way to his bedroom, still in a daze, and sat down on the edge of the bed. A few seconds later he looked up as he heard someone lean against the doorframe, making the wood squeak slightly. Gaara was in the doorway, watching him through his black rimmed eyes. "Are you okay?" The Kazekage asked, looking concerned.

The Jonin blinked, wondering if he'd been making a weird face. He smiled reassuringly at the Sand shinobi, "yeah, I'm fine. Just a . . . A bad memory." He motioned with his hand, and watched as Gaara slowly approached him. He held out a hand and pulled the redhead up onto his lap. He moved his arms down to wrap around the Kazekage's waist, Gaara's hands on his shoulders.

Gaara lowered his head until it rested on Lee's shoulder, his face pressed against Lee's neck. "I was worried you wouldn't come back," he breathed. "I was so scared . . ."

"I'm sorry," Lee murmured, "I'll try to be quicker next time." He reached up and ran a hand through Gaara's red locks, "but I promised, didn't I? You should have more faith in me." Gaara raised his head and glared at the Leaf, "why should I have faith in a person who runs off and recklessly pushes himself too far? That's practically an oxymoron, Lee."

Lee smiled, "okay, I get it. I promise to try not to do anything to reckless from now one, okay?"

"That's like asking Naruto to hate ramen," Gaara stated. He wrapped his arms underneath the Jonin's leaning his full weight against him experimentally. "Can I stay here with you tonight?"

"Errr . . ." Lee gulped, willing images of a sprawled out, naked, panting Gaara, from his mind. "If you're okay with that . . . I mean, just sleeping in the same bed, nothing else." The last part of the sentence came out as an embarrassed squeak.

Gaara pushed him backwards onto the bed and pulled the covers over top of them. He curled himself into Lee's arms, ignoring the older man's startled gasp and bright red face. He lay there for a moment, and sighed as Lee came back to reality and wrapped his arms around him.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Naruto rocked Minato slowly back and forth in his son's room, listening to the sound of Neji clearing up the trash in the living room. He leaned down and kissed the child's forehead and lay him down inside the crib. The Blonde began to hum a quiet tune, his voice raising into a whispered song. "If you can reach the stars, and touch them with your hands, would it feel the same as just knowing they were there? And if the fire should burn down, no wind to keep it alive, would it ever return? And if the flame should loose it's fan, would it cease to burn? I believe in the fire's strength, and of the stars up in the sky. So if you loose the wind, don't let your fire die. And if you choose to reach for the stars, keep your head held high."

"What's that song?" a quiet voice asked, strong arms wrapping around Naruto's chest.

The blonde smiled softly, leaning back against his lover, "it's just . . . Something someone taught me once, tebayo."

Neji leaned against the blonde, not asking who that person had been, knowing who it was from the words of the song. "Un, Naruto, can I show you your gift now?" He pulled the blonde with him into the next room, toppling them both over onto the bed. He reached down and hooked his arms underneath the blonde's back, pulling him up for a searing kiss.

Naruto pulled away after a moment, "so what is it?" He demanded. He hated not knowing what his gifts were, he was the kind of person who shook all his presents before it was time to open them.

"You'll have to take my clothes off," Neji purred, kissing the blonde deeply again, "think of it as wrapping paper."

Naruto slid a hand underneath the Jonin's shirt with a low growl, "you didn't get me anything, did you. Don't tease me by using your body as a gift that's just . . ." he had removed the older man's shirt, and his voice fell short.

Across the top left side of Neji's chest, was an intricate, golden-orange fox. Naruto raised a hand to it, running his fingers over the design in a daze, watching as Neji's muscles twitched slightly from the stinging pain still lingering from the fresh tattoo.

"What do you think?" Neji asked from where he was levered above the blonde on his hands and knees.

Naruto traced the tattoo again, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. It was so beautiful, so intricate. So . . . Something. "I lo-" the blonde clamped his mouth shut with a horrified gasp. He sat up, shoving Neji off of him, and leapt off the bed. He was down the hall and had thrown himself into the bathroom, locking the door behind him, before Neji could even get out of the bedroom.

The blonde collapsed onto his knees on the middle of the tiled bathroom floor. He heard Neji pounding his fists against the door, screaming his name, but he didn't pay any attention to it. "Oh god . . . Sasuke . . . I've . . . I can't do this. What if he dies! What if he dies because of me! What if I end up killing him like I did to you!" He sobbed, pressing his face into his hands.

A loud bang sounded behind him, and he flinched as he heard the lock on the door shatter. Neji stumbled into the room, and collapsed on the ground beside the blonde. He wrapped his arms around Naruto, ignoring the blonde's startled yell.

Naruto struggled in his lover's tight grip, "stop it Neji! Let me go! I don't want this! I don't-"

"I'm not going to leave you!" the Hyuga yelled, his grip tightening, "I said that before, didn't I?! I'm not going to leave you to cry all alone!"

"I love Sasuke!" Naruto screamed, "I can't-"

"Sasuke. Is. DEAD!" Neji hissed, pressing his face to Naruto's shoulder. "And he's never coming back! He wouldn't want you to be like this, why can't you see that?! He wanted you to live, Naruto! And living means moving on! You're clinging to a memory so tightly, that it'll kill you if you keep on holding it like that . . ." Naruto felt his heart stop as Neji looked up at him, his white eyes brimming with anguished tears. "Why can't you see that?"

Naruto's hands raised up, cupping Neji's face and brining him close, pressing their lips together in a desperate kiss. "Just hold me," he whispered, "don't make me say those words, just hold me. And never let me go. I'll find the strength to say them again someday . . . But for now, just . . ." He pressed his face against Neji's chest, clinging to him as he felt the tears overwhelm him. "Just hold onto me tight! Make this pain go away, just make it stop!"

Neji choked on his own tears, pulling Naruto against him tighter than he'd ever held him before, holding him steady as sobs wracked the smaller boy's body. "I love you, Naruto. I love you . . . I love you . . ." he whispered, rocking his lover in his embrace as the blonde wailed in the agony of his heart torn in two.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Gasp! Le Drama! This is the longest chapter yet Dattebayo! I'm not sure what to do with Gaara and Lee yet. I feel that for their sake, I should take it slow. But for my sake . . . My brain is screaming _"Smuuuuuuttt! Smuuuuutttt!" _so one, maybe two more chapters till we get some GaaLee goodness. *thumbs up*

I know Naruto might seem like he's acting totally stupid. But put yourself in his shoes. He doesn't believe he can fall in love again without loosing Sasuke completely. And so he's trying his best to deny his feelings. Next chapter, we'll get nice fluff from multiple pairings, including SasuNaru as well as a secret fluffy fav of mine I haven't dwelled on yet.

one more thing. want to see a video i made for this story? i wish i could do more than just a flashy slideshow, but my laptop can't do dvds.

.com/watch?v=iCYLs4fZKqE


	15. Chapter 15

Love Rebound: Dream

**Lee stumbled groggily into the kitchen the next morning to find Gaara cooking breakfast. It was a slightly weird sight to him, the head of a Hidden Village cooking. Lee had always done their breakfast and other meals before, though Gaara preferred takeout for dinner. **

**The redhead was flipping something in a frying pan on the stove, so preoccupied he hadn't noticed his roommate yet. He reached over to the counter and tore off a small piece of bacon from a plate and handed it to the small kitten that was perched on his shoulder, purring loudly. Lee grinned, happy that Gaara was fully enjoying his gift.**

"**Gooooood morning!" Lee said, pulling up a chair at the table and sitting down. "Making breakfast? I could have done that you know."**

**Gaara turned to look at him over his shoulder, "no you couldn't have. Your cooking was one thing I didn't miss while you were gone."**

**Lee made a pouting face and huffed, "what's wrong with my cooking?"**

**The Kazekage set down a plate with an omelet and bacon down for Lee, as well as one for himself, joining his companion at the table. "The fact that you obviously have no taste buds?" He suggested with a smirk.**

**The Leaf Jonin muttered something as he stuffed an omelet piece into his mouth, "anyways, we should go out today!"**

**Gaara fed a piece of omelet to the kitten, smiling faintly as she mewed in happiness. "What for?"**

**Rock Lee took a moment to soak in the smile that still lingered on the edges of the redhead's lips before replying, "I have some things I need to get. And it's almost New Years. There's gonna be a festival, and I need a new yukata. Naruto set mine on fire last year . . ."**

**The redhead studied the Jonin from across the table with his emerald eyes for a moment, "I want one too."**

"**Want one what?" Lee asked around the omelet he was stuffing in his mouth.**

"**A yukata. That's like the summer kimono you bought me, right? I want a yukata too. I wanna go to the festival."**

**Lee inhaled the rest of his food, setting his plate down with a hearty, "ah!" before looking at Gaara with a huge grin on his face. "Yosh! That's great! We'll go out and buy them together! I have to get some other things too. Like a new calendar, and New Years cards, and another zodiac set, Neji stole mine a few years ago. My mission paid well, so I'm loaded right now! Yay shopping!"**

**^-^ ^-^ ^-^**

_**Naruto ran along the banks of the river, watching how his shadow danced across the surface of the water in the light of the setting sun. He looked down at himself, taking in the sight of the familiar orange and blue outfit. His legs were shorter than he last remembered them, and he looked at his hands, noticing their small size. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't worn that outfit since he was thirteen.**_

_**The blonde shrugged off the thoughts, and continued on along the edge of the water happily. The fireflies were coming out, their orange yellow glow reflecting off the water almost as bright as the light of the rising full moon. Naruto looked up from the river, noticing someone sitting on the edge of the water.**_

_**The person was sitting with his back against a tree. He had spiky, silver-gray hair, and the lower half of his face, as well as his left eye, was covered. By his Konoha headband and a black cloth. He wore the dark green vest of a Jonin over his black clothes. In his hand, he balanced and orange book decorated with a crossed red circle warning label.**_

_**Naruto slowly drew level with the ninja, his eyes widening. "K-Kakashi-**_

_**sensei . . ."**_

_**The Jonin looked up at the blonde, his eyes crooking closed in an expression recognizable as a smile. "Naruto, how are you?" He placed the book in his weapons pouch and motioned with his hand towards the boy.**_

_**The blonde approached him slowly, and gasped as Kakashi's hands clasped under his arms and lifted the boy into the air, setting him down across his lap. **_

"_**What's troubling you, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, ruffling the boy's short blonde hair with his right hand, the other curled around the boy's back. "You're not smiling like you usually do."**_

_**Naruto scowled, and pinched the Jonin's cheeks, "shut up, Hentai-san. Your smiles are always fake." **_

_**Kakashi pulled the child's fingers away from his face, smiling beneath the mask. "They used to be, Naruto. A long time ago. Then I met you, and Sasuke and Sakura. Even if most of those smiles were fake as well, all of you gave me many real reasons to be happy."**_

_**The blonde gave the Jonin a criticizing look, "I have real smiles, too . . ."**_

_**The silver-haired shinobi tapped Naruto's mouth with his index finger, "this one's fake." He drew the finger down the blonde's neck, to his chest, resting it over the boy's heart. "What makes you smile, Naruto."**_

_**The blonde stared up at the purple and auburn sky, thinking, "uhmmm . . . Minato, and teasing Gaara and Lee. And my friends . . . And Ne-" He swallowed, "and Neji . . ."**_

_**Kakashi blinked, his eyes curling into a smile expression. He raised a hand and covered Naruto's eyes with it. "And what are you hiding those smiles for?"**_

_**Naruto swallowed, raising his hands to trail his fingers across the back of Kakashi's gloves, "for you. For Pervy-sage. For . . ."**_

_**Another pair of hands joined Kakashi's replacing the Jonin's over Naruto's eyes. A weight settled against the blonde's back, and his heart shuddered. "Smile for me, Naruto. I don't want you to shed tears for me any longer. I never wanted that."**_

_**Naruto peeled the hands from his face, and kept his eyes closed as the person's arms wrapped around his chest. "Sasuke . . ."**_

"_**Usuratonkachi . . ." The raven haired boy murmured, kissing the back of the blonde's neck, "stop living in the past. That's not where I am, nor where I want you to be."**_

_**The blonde leaned back, taking in the sight of the taller boy. He was wearing that familiar dark blue shirt with the Uchiha emblem on it's back, the clothes he'd worn before he'd Konoha. And his eyes were the same onyx gray rather than the Sharingan red they'd been when he'd died. "Sasuke . . . Tebayo . . . I miss you so much . . ."**_

"_**I know," Sasuke murmured, leaning down until his lips touched those of the smaller boy's. "And that won't change. But don't let it rule your life, dobe." He pulled away, unwinding his arms from around the blonde. "You're gonna be Hokage soon," he smiled, "isn't that your dream?"**_

"_**It was," Naruto whispered as Sasuke's hands left him, "but right now . . . Aren't I dreaming of you?"**_

_**Kakashi stood up, setting Naruto on the ground, "you are," he said, "but when did you start calling these dreams again?" Naruto blinked, and Kakashi smiled, "we will always be here, whenever you need us, Naruto. But you've become lost in these dreams. You need to realize that you already have everything you'll ever need right there in Konoha." **_

"_**Take care of Minato," Sasuke said, "and give Neji hell for me. Conceited jerk."**_

_**Naruto stood up, reaching out to take Sasuke's hand in his own, "what are you saying? That sounds like . . . Like a goodbye . . ."**_

"_**It is a goodbye," Kakashi said.**_

"_**But no goodbye is forever," Sasuke whispered, pulling the blonde close and kissing him. "Never. But you need to keep moving on down the path fate laid out for you." He kissed the blonde again, his hand trailing across the top left of Naruto's chest, "I will always be with you . . . Even if you can't see me . . ."**_

_**Kakashi held out a hand towards the raven haired boy, "come on, it's time to go."**_

_**Sasuke nodded, and turned away from Naruto, "aishitaru, usuratonkachi." He took the Jonin's hand, and they began walking towards the edge of the river.**_

_**Naruto didn't say anything, as he watched them cross the river. His eyes widened, as two people met them on the other side. The first, a tall, blonde haired man who's face matched that of the fourth carving on Konoha's cliff face, took Kakashi's hand. And the second, whom Naruto recognized as the very man Sasuke had focused his entire life around, took the young Uchiha's hand. **_

_**And he only watched, as they faded away.**_

**^-^ ^-^ ^-^**

**Lee twirled around in the center of the street, wearing his new yukata. The item was a dark green, with small red flowers bordering the bottom of it. He hummed and spun again, very pleased with his find. His old one hadn't been nearly as nice.**

"**You look ridiculous," a monotone voice commented from a few feet away.**

**The Konoha shinobi turned towards the annoyed looking redhead with a grin, "Gaara! You should wear yours too!"**

"**No," Gaara said, flat out. "I'll wait till new years."**

**Lee smiled, and skipped a few feet ahead of the Kazekage as they walked. "we should go on a date!"**

**Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow, "what? A date? Like . . . Fruit?"**

**The spandex wearing ninja laughed, "nooooo . . . Like, a date. Where we go do something fun!" He made the thumbs up sign and flashed it at Gaara, "something that couples do!"**

"**Couples?"**

**Lee nodded furiously, "yeah!" He jumped to the redhead's side, "like holding hands!" He twined his finger's with the Kazekage's. **

**Gaara stared down at their intertwined fingers, "why?"**

"**It feels good, doesn't it," Lee said, leading Gaara down the road. "Doing things like this, it something couples do to show their affection."**

**The redhead stared at their hands again. It did feel good. Warm, and comforting, though Lee's hands still bore his regular training bandages. Gaara drew level with the Jonin, tightening his grip on Lee's hand. "Are we a couple then?"**

"**If you'd like," Lee whispered as Gaara leaned against him. **

**The Kazekage nodded, "what are some other things we could do?" He closed his eyes and leaned against Lee's shoulder, enjoying the feeling of someone completely unafraid of him. Lee stopped walking. Gaara's eyes snapped open, and he held back a low growl of anger as he noticed the person standing in front of them.**

"**Lee-san . . ." Sakura stuttered. "I just . . . Wanted to tell you . . ." She ducked down into a rapid, very Hinata like bow, "I'm sorry, Lee! I'm sorry I was such a . . ."**

"**Bitch?" Gaara suggested under his breath, earning a sideways glare from Lee.**

"**A bad girlfriend," Sakura finished, probably never having heard the Kazekage. "I used you, Lee. And that was wrong of me."**

**Lee stared at her, "wha? You don't have to apologize-"**

**She shook her head fiercely, her pink hair going every which way. "Yes I do! I was a jerk, and I realize that." She turned and bowed to Gaara respectfully, "Arigato, Kazekage-sama. Please look after Lee-san." She turned, and entered a shop a few yards down the road.**

"**Uhhhhh . . . What was that all about?" Lee laughed.**

"**I told her that the next time she saw you, she had to apologize, remember?" Gaara said, tugging at Lee's hand so they continued to walk down the sidewalk. "You don't still . . ." he hesitated, wondering if what he was thinking was considered "Prying".**

"**I like you, Gaara," Lee said, "I like you a lot. I don't feel the same about Sakura-san any more." He leaned over and kissed the side of the Kazekage's cheek. "Anyways, let's go get something to eat. At a restaurant. It can be a date!" He declared, pointing at the sky.**

**As Lee led the way to his favorite curry place, he glanced at Gaara out of the corner of his eyes. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the small, faint smile on the redhead's lips. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so happy about something so small, and he grinned. **

**RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE**

**I. Can't. Think . . . . . . . . . I couldn't decide what to do after Sakura's apology, and just cut it off there. So, sorry for the short chapter. Next chapter, New Years party. As well as the lead up to what you've all been waiting patiently for . . . *drum roll* guess.**

**I'm sorry the chapters are slowing down in release time. I'm trying to wrap up Connected Dream and Taste Of Pain so that I only have two multi-chapter fic to write instead of FOUR. (it hurts my brain. Especially when I decided I needed to write the new parts for all of them today . . .)**

**Also, the secret pairing I mentioned last chapter was KakaNaru. Cause I think it's cute. But I also had slight MinKaka and ItaSasu in here too. *cheeky grin* hehehehehe . . .**

**I thought about adding Gai-sensei in here too, but he's . . . eccentric . . . And I'd probably just let him skip off into his own little world.**

**One more thing. The song, "The Game Of Love" by Jenny Rom, I decided that's this fic theme song. For the whole fic. Naruto's the American, Gaara's the Indian, Lee's the Italian, and Neji's the Japanese guy. I picked it like that for the description of the people, rather than the nationalities.**

**Chapter Theme Song: Love Song Requiem**

"**My love, my heart, will never be the same . . ."**


	16. Chapter 16

**Love Rebound: Manjusaka**

Forward note- in order for you to fully understand this chapter, as well as Naruto's feelings, you have to know what the Manjusaka actually _is_. Lol. It's a flower, with an amazing story behind it. Short version here. Two elves, Manju, and Saka were given the task of guarding the flower. One watched over the leaves, while the other watched over the flower itself. One day, the two decided to meet, and forsook their posts. When they met, they fell in love. But their god got super pissed that they had left their jobs of guarding the flower, and cursed them. Now, when the flower blooms, the leaves have already fallen. So the leaves and the flower are never together. It is said that if you walk on a road where one of these flowers is growing, and you meet someone on that road, you and that person will never see each other again. These flowers are also used at funerals and graveyards. *thumbs up* I hope that was an accurate explanation. Read on!

Naruto remembered it. More than almost any other memory, that morning was burned into his mind.

"_Shikamaru . . . What the hell are you doing here so early?" A thirteen year old Naruto rubbed at his eyes sleepily, his obnoxious black and white bedtime hat perched on his head. _

_The dark haired boy looked away, his eyes glistening with regret. "It's . . . Naruto . . . Last night, Sasuke . . . He left. He's gone, Naruto."_

_The blond stared at the Chunin, a confused look on his face. "Wha-what? Th-that's silly! Why would Sasuke leave? I mean, I know we fought the other day at the hospital . . . But . . ." His eyebrows furrowed. "He . . . Wouldn't just leave . . ."_

_Shikamaru stared down at the ground. "Naruto . . . Look . . ." He pulled something out from behind his back, holding it out towards the shorter boy. "This was on your front step."_

_Naruto took it, and his breath caught in his throat, his heart stopping. It was a small, red lily flower. It's long green stem was completely leafless, though it's petals were in full bloom. "Manjusaka . . ." He turned sky blue eyes up to the Chunin. "It . . . Can't be . . . This can't be from Sasuke."_

_Shikamaru continued staring at the ground, and did not answer. Naruto jumped forward, grabbing the front of the brunet's forest green vest. "Tell me that it's a lie! He didn't leave! He's still here, dammit! This IS NOT from Sasuke!" He shook the Chunin harshly, "tell me, damn you Shikamaru!"_

"_I'm sorry . . ."_

The blond finished tying the knot across Minato's small Yukata, grinning.

"Awww . . . Lookit how cute you are Minato!" The baby's Yukata was a dark blue, dashed of by a bright orange spiral on each sleeve. Naruto smiled, "you look so much like him . . . You know that?" He ruffled the child's hair, smiling as Minato giggled.

"Ready to go?" A soft voice asked from the doorway. Naruto glanced over his shoulder, scowling slightly.

"Neji . . . You wear something like that _everyday_ when we don't have missions or anything to do outside the house. Couldn't you have worn something . . . Cooler?"

The Hyuga smirked, "no. it's not my fault I have a taste in clothes _all_ the time." He tucked his hands behind his head, leaning back against the door frame, his slightly evil smile growing broader by the second.

The soon-to-be-Hokage growled, "what? Are you suggesting I have no fashion sense?"

Neji sighed mockingly, "well, gee. A _ninja_ who wears bright orange all the

time . . . That's sort of stupid, don't you think?" He sifted his hands behind his head a bit, his white and lavender Yukata sliding slightly off his shoulder, revealing the top of an intricate fox tattoo.

Naruto looked away, picking up Minato. "I like orange, baka."

"I know," Neji smirked, ruffling the blonde's hair affectionately. "You wouldn't be my Naruto if you didn't." His smile softened as he ran smooth fingers through his lover's hair again, "neh, Naruto?"

The blonde stared down at the ground, his blue eyes half lidded, " . . . Yours?" he shifted Minato in his grip, ignoring the babies giggles. "Do you really mean that, tebayo? Do you mean forever? Or . . . Do you just mean right now . . ."

The brunette's smile fell slightly, and he dropped his hand from Naruto's hair to his shoulder. "Naruto . . ."

The younger boy jerked back slightly as the Hyuga did this, but allowed Neji's hand to remain where it was. "Because . . . Because someone once told me that before! And he left . . . Without . . . Without even a second thought! And he never regretted it! Not once!"

Neji tightened his grip on the blonde's shoulder, his pearl hued eyes clouded. "I meant forever, baka. Even if you hate me, even if you kill me, I'll be with you." He smirked, "though, I'd like it better if neither of those things happened, nah?"

Naruto snorted, wiping away a tear that had threatened to spill from his eyes. "Right. I'll try not to kill you . . . Yet." he raised remorseful eyes to Neji, "I don't want that to ever happen again . . . Especially not to you." A small smile graced his features at this, and he laughed quietly.

Neji gave his lover a reassuring smile, "and I'll never give you any reason too. I'm not . . ." he hesitated, unsure if what he wanted to say would tip Naruto over the edge. "I'm not . . . I'm not like Sasuke . . ."

The blonde's eyes widened, before crooking upwards in a smile, he shifted Minato in his arms again, and pressed the child to Neji's chest. Neji instinctively took the child, looking slightly confused, one of Naruto's favorite expressions to see on the stone face Hyuga. "I don't want you to be," Naruto murmured, "I never said that I wanted another Sasuke."

Neji raised an eyebrow, "and what about the _real_ Sasuke. If he came back, right now, what would you do?" The Hyuga regretted asking, but he felt as though he had to know. Had the right to know.

The blonde shinobi stared at Neji for a moment before speaking. "I . . . I'd choose the person who would always be by my side. Who would never betray me.

Never . . ." he swallowed, "never make me decide between my village and them . . ."

Neji felt his heart shudder, and he loosened an arm from around Minato and draped it around the Blonde's shoulders, pulling him close. "I would never force that choice upon you, Naruto."

Naruto buried his face against the lavender cloth of Neji's Yukata, his fingers trailing across the top left side of the Hyuga's chest. Silently, he traced the outline of the tattoo he knew to be beneath the cloth before speaking. "I know . . ."

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Gaara of the Sand stared at his reflection in the mirror with a scowl. This didn't look right at all. The winter Yukata he'd bought with Lee just didn't seem to fit him. He fiddled with the sleeves again, wondering if maybe he was just putting it on wrong. That was probably it, since Lee had helped him when he'd tried it on in the store. But he'd done all the steps just as Lee had. Or at least . . . He thought he did.

The redhead sighed, feeling defeated. Gaara of the Sand, Kazekage of Sunagankure, vanquished by clothes. It was a sad, sad day. Turning frustrated emerald, black rimmed eyes to the door, he called, "Lee!"

A bright red and green blur shot into the room, skidding to a halt so that the Kazekage could make out the shape of Rock Lee, arms flailing as he nearly tripped over himself in his vibrant green and red Yukata. "What!? What's wrong Gaara? Is someone attacking you?!" He straitened up, moving into a stance with one hand held outwards, the other tucked behind his back. "An assassin!? I will destroy them with the powers of Youth and Looooove!" He struck his famous "nice guy" pose to finish this declaration off.

The Kazekage resisted the urge to put his head in his hands, "no, Lee. I just need some help with this Yukata. I'm not in any danger." Though he had to admit, it would have been interesting to see Lee beat up an enemy nin after they had to listen to that speech.

Rock Lee turned his attention to the Kazekage, holding back a laugh at what he saw. Gaara's dark brown and red Yukata was tangled up around the middle, the obi tied across his chest rather than his waist. "Gaara-chan . . . You look ridiculous . . ." Lee snorted, ignoring the annoyed growl he got from the Sand shinobi. With great patience, as Gaara would hardly stand still as Lee helped to get him properly dressed in his robes, the Jonin sorted out the tangled clothes.

"There," he proclaimed, satisfied with his work. Gaara shifted from foot to foot, staring down at himself, at the dark brown robes flecked with deep red sakura blossoms, identical to Lee's except for the base color. "Gaara, you look great! Yosh!" Lee flashed him a thumbs up sign with a broad grin.

Gaara looked up at the leaf nin, his face blank. "It . . . It does?"

Lee smiled gently at the Kazekage, reaching out to take his hand, "yeah, it does."

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

"So, are you two together now? Huh? Huuuuhhhh??" Naruto demanded, elbowing Gaara in the ribs. "I mean, you just suddenly abandon my Christmas party and all, and then I don't see you until today . . ." He raised an eyebrow, "oh, but Neji said he saw you out shopping with Lee the other day."

Neji stared up at the darkening sky with a smirk as Lee's head whipped around and the Blue Beast of Konoha sent him a glare. "It's not _my_ fault I see everything . . . Is it?"

"Yes it is," Gaara muttered, ducking out of the way of another elbow jab from Naruto.

The blonde put his hands behind his head, whistling nonchalantly as if there was no more to say on the matter, although his eyes still glinted with mischief. "Soooo . . ." he hummed, "have you two . . . Done _it_ yet?"

The water balloon yoyo Lee had been bouncing on the palm of his hand burst as it hit the ground. "Wha . . . What?" Lee stammered. "Of-of course not! I mean, it's only been a few days! Why would we . . . That's just stupid Naruto!" He burst out.

"So," Naruto said blankly, "Neji and I did it the first day."

Neji shifted and covered Naruto's mouth with his hand. "You really have no sense of moral, do you," he hissed, his face turning crimson.

Lee just stared at them, mortified. He turned his gaze to a fish catching booth, wondering briefly if Gaara would like something like that. A hand gripped the back of his Yukata, and he turned to see Gaara looking up at him, confusion hidden beneath his usual stoic expression.

"I don't understand," he said quietly, "what are they talking about?"

Rock Lee's face went from pale, to red, to near nosebleed blush in about half a second's time. "Uhhhmmm. . . I-er . . ." He whipped his head around towards his other two companions. "Naruto!" he squeaked.

The blonde grinned from ear to ear, "what?"

The Jonin grabbed the front of the soon-to-be -Hokage's robes, "You're his best friend," he gasped out, "you explain to him what the hell you were talking about!"

Naruto blinked, startled, "wha? What?! Why should I have to be the one to give him 'the talk'?! go grab Kankuro or something! I-"

Neji's hand thwapped down on top of the blonde's head. "Just do it, Naruto," he muttered.

"This is some sort of cruel punishment via Lee and Neji tag team, isn't it," Naruto sulked.

"It wouldn't have happened if you kept your mouth shut and your mind outa the gutter," Neji smirked.

Lee decided that now was a good time to slip away. He sidled over the fish catching booth and kneeled down beside it, staring at the fish absently. And doing his best to tune out Gaara and Naruto's conversation.

"Explain," Gaara demanded as Naruto sat down beside him on a bench across from where Lee was staring pointedly down at the fish. The Kazekage of the sand did not particularly like the thought that he did not know something, and was thus a little upset that he did not.

Naruto twiddled his thumbs, feeling more than just a little awkward. And then nearly jumped into the air from the tension as Neji suddenly took a seat next to him, not looking at him, but merely bouncing Minato on his knee. The blonde felt himself instantly relax, and turned his attention to Gaara. "Errr . . . Well, how to begin . . . You know what sex is, right? Cause I heard from Kiba that you were the one who told him about Neji and I . . ."

"My caretakers explained the basics to me, yes," Gaara stated absently, "it's the process humans use to procreate. Right?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, feeling relived that he didn't have to go through the basics, which would have been even more awkward than it already was. "But you know, back there, I was asking Lee if . . . If you and he had done that." The blonde swallowed, blushing. There was a reason he had asked that of Lee, rather than Gaara, who was so blunt about everything he couldn't even cut paper. Or something like that, Naruto brought his mind back from obscure metaphors as he felt Gaara's stare on him.

"If Lee and I had had sex?" he asked, looking quizzical beneath a blank expression.

"Errr . . . Yeah." Naruto laughed dryly.

"How can two men have sex together," the Kazekage stabbed at Naruto with blunt words. "I know that it's possible, but I don't know how, or why. The organs involved-"

The leaf shinobi cut Gaara off by placing a hand over the redhead's mouth. "Good grief Gaara! You have less tact than I do!"

"And that's saying something," Neji muttered, leaning against Naruto's shoulder, looking as though he was completely enjoying the blonde's predicament.

Naruto shot his lover a glare, before turning back to Gaara. "Just let me say something really fast before you ask. Yes, two guys can't make a kid. No, sex between two guys isn't to test that theory. It's something you do with someone you love, it's a bond between two people who love each other, whether they're of the opposite sex or not. Relinquishing your body like that, to someone else, to bid yourself with someone else, it's proof of your love and feelings for that person." The blonde cast a glance to his other side, feeling Neji's weight shift slightly as he said this.

The Hyuga's eyes were gazing at him in a prying, questioning way. Naruto knew what Neji was asking him, beneath that look. Whether or not he himself held true to those words.

"Lee said that, when I told Kiba about your back pains," Gaara said.

Naruto turned his attention back to the Kazekage, "yeah, thank you soooooo much for that."

"So . . . Then, in that context," Gaara began, "how can two men have sex?"

Neji stifled a snort of laughter as Naruto nearly toppled off of the bench in surprise and horror.

Lee looked up as Gaara kneeled down beside him in front of the fishing game booth. The Kazekage was looking slightly flustered, and more than a little confused, but he met Lee's gaze steadily. "What's this game?"

The Jonin grinned, glad that the redhead wasn't ready to discuss what Naruto had told him. "It's a fish catching game!" He motioned with a hand towards the person running the booth for a demonstration.

Gaara watched in fascination as the man scooped up a tiny goldfish with the paper net and popped it into a bowl. "I want to try," he whispered, staring down at the fish in the tank.

Lee nodded, paying the man for a few rounds. "Remember, don't go to fast, or the paper will break, okay?"

The Kazekage nodded, and dipped the net down into the water. He chased the fish inside around, breaking four nets before he looked back up at Lee dejectedly. "they all keep swimming away . . . They don't like me."

The Leaf Jonin had a very hard time resisting from grabbing the redhead in a hug tight enough to squish him at that moment. _He looks soooo cute,_ he thought. _And so _

_sad . . . _Lee ruffled the Sand nin's deep red hair. "I like you, Gaara," he whispered. "And so do lots of other people too. Like your brother and sister, and Neji, and Naruto. Minato too. And Hatsumi, remember?"

Gaara nodded, "but . . . Lee . . . You . . ." he looked up at the Jonin, "someone once told me that love is the only thing that can heal a wound to the heart. And since I've been living with you . . . I . . . my heart doesn't hurt as much anymore. Lee, do you . . . Love me?"

Rock Lee was more than just a little taken aback, "wha? What's this all of a sudden Gaara?" He flinched inwardly as the redhead stared at the ground again.

"Gaara . . . Of course I love you . . . You're my most precious person." He rested a hand on the Kazekage's shoulder. "Okay?"

"You said that to _her_ once, didn't you," Gaara whispered.

Lee blinked, "I, er . . . Yeah, I guess I did . . ."

"Did you have sex with her?"

The Jonin felt his breath catch in his throat, wondering briefly just how deep Gaara's bluntness could go. "Err . . . No. No I didn't."

The Kazekage raised his head and stared at Lee, as if assessing whether or not that was a lie. "I want you to prove to me that you love me more than you loved her," he muttered. "I want this 'bond', as Naruto called it."

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

"Uhhhh . . . Do I want to know where Gaara and Lee suddenly disappeared to?" Naruto said weakly as he and Neji made their way down another row of game booths. "Scratch that, I don't."

"Lie," Neji stated, paying a vendor far a large round sucker. "You'll be asking Lee about it next time you see him." he unwrapped the candy and held it out to a squealing and giggling Minato.

"Probably," the blonde admitted, grinning. "Neji, let's go get some ramen tomorrow Dattebayo."

"We just had some tonight," the brunette stated, "tomorrow, you're going to eat nothing but vegetables and fruits."

"Ewwww . . ." Naruto made a face.

Neji smirked, and turned to face him. "Baka . . ." he reached inside his robes and pulled something out, holding it towards the blonde. "Take it, it's a gift."

Confused, Naruto took it, feeling his heart shudder as his fingers brushed against leaves and petals. "M-Manjusaka . . ." he looked up at the Hyuga, feeling tears tickling at the corners of his eyes. "But . . . But it has it's leaves. And it's flower. It can't be . . ."

"I found it a few days ago, it's mutated, I think," Neji smiled, ruffling the blonde's hair, "just like you, Kitsune."

Naruto clutched the flower tightly in his hands, feeling the tears spill out of the corners of his eyes. "Th-thank you . . ."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Gomenasai! Gomenasai! I've been on vacation since the 11th, sorries. And I just got back on the 29th, with awesomely sunburned ankles. :{

Sorry to leave u hangin on the LeeGaa smutness here, mwahahahahaha! But I want it to be the focus of the next chapter. Lols. I plan on only three more chapters and an epilogue here. I didn't think it would even go on for this long. *sweats*.

And, being so busy this summer and spending most of my computer time typing new chapters for all my fics, I neglected to read the new Naruto chapters since somewhere near the end of his fight with Pain.

So now my fic is slightly AU in the fact that Kakashi is not dead anymore. *sighs* I love you Kakashi, but . . . That was lame. I am glad ur okay, but . . . Lame.

I hate Sai right now tho. How he's decided to go run and tell Sakura that Naruto's in love with her. And it sorta looks like she might love him too now. *makes a face*. Ewww . . . They better not end up together, ick. I HATE Sakura! She's a stupid wimpy lame excuse for a ninja, if Naruto HAS to end up with a girl, it had better damn well be Hinata, cause she's like, the only girl I like in the series. And she's cute and frazzled. (N-N-Naruto . . .) Kawaii . . . But I still like NejiNaru best. *raises Yaoi flag high*

But Gaara's in the new chapters! Woot! *skips* and I loved how he was like "I'm gonna start this meeting, cause I kick ass. Eat it bitches." ahahahaha! I hope Lee shows up soon too. Yup.

I'm mad at Sasuke tho. "lalalala . . . Let's go kill all the Kages!" *hits with large stick* what did Itachi die for you moron! And if you so much as lay one girly little Orochimaru-following, Brother-complexing, jerk faced, Naruto-cheating, finger on Gaara, I will kill you.

Excuse me while I go find Lee so we can set out on a "protect Gaara from Baka-suke" mission. Thank you.


	17. Chapter 17

**Love Rebound: Doki Doki **

Gaara stepped out of the bathroom, wrapping the towel he wore tighter around his waist. He didn't really see the point of this step in the grand scheme of everything, but Lee had insisted. Naruto would call it old fashioned, probably.

The redhead ran a hand through his hair, shaking out any excess water still clinging there. He really hated showers, more than he hated baths, in fact. Because the water, for one reason or another, always wanted to stick to you more when you were done. Which made it more complicated to use any of his sand jutsu's for at least an hour. And it wasn't very enjoyable to just take it _alone_, as he pointed out to Lee. But that hadn't gone over as well as he would have liked.

The Kazekage made his way down the hallway, checking on the sleeping Hatsumi in the living room as he went. His hand on the bedroom door, Gaara suddenly felt a spike of uncharacteristic nervousness in his stomach. He wanted this, he really did. A proof of Lee's love. A proof that he himself felt something strong for the Leaf nin. Love was . . . It was a difficult word for him, though he had scarred his own face with it. It represented everything he had lost, everything that had made him . . . Inhuman, for so long.

Gaara clenched his other hand, squeezing his dark ringed eyes shut. Was it really even possible? For someone like him, still so far from humanity, to even do something like this? The most human act of all? Even without Shukaku inside him, he wasn't human. He'd spilled too much blood . . . And . . . Laughed while doing it. And some of the blood had been that of the man who he was about to do this with.

The door creaked open, and Gaara nearly fell forwards, as he was leaning on it. "Gaara . . . It's slightly creepy if you just stand outside the door like that," Lee laughed, catching the redhead before he fell. His heavy eyebrows furrowed a bit, noticing something different in Gaara's eyes immediately. "Hey . . . We don't have to do this if you've changed your mind, Gaara. I'm fine with that."

The Sand nin's hand clenched against Lee's shoulder. "No . . . I want this. I just . . ." He closed his eyes, "I'm not sure if I'm . . . human enough for it."

Lee's eyes narrowed, "not human enough? That's ridiculous Gaara. You're one of the most human people I know. Wait . . . That didn't make a whole lot of sense, did it. Uh . . ."

Gaara's fingers trailed down from Lee's shoulder to the scars littering his left arm. "But . . . I was the one . . ." He swallowed, leaning his head against Lee's shoulder, his other arm wrapping around the older man's waist.

Lee smiled softly, curling his fingers into the dark-red hair. "you do know . . . That human's are the only creatures capable of such a wide range of emotions. Emotions like _regret_." He moved his hand to Gaara's chin, forcing the younger to look up at him. "But you know, Gaara, I don't regret these scars. I never have."

"What?" The Kazekage asked, in slight disbelief.

"I trained harder than ever because of these injuries, to prove I was still capable of being a shinobi. And the day I got out of my surgery . . ." He smiled, "do you know? That was the day I met you again, Gaara. If I hadn't gotten those injuries, if hadn't been so _stubborn_ about proving myself, I would have never been there."

Gaara's eyes narrowed, "but-"

Lee raised a hand to the redhead's mouth, silencing him with a finger to his lips. "Gaara, I think, that because of everything we've been through together, that I've loved you for a long time. I just didn't realize it. And I know, that even if it isn't as strong, you have feelings for me too." He lowered the finger, watching Gaara's emerald eyes closely. "Do you remember, when Konoha sent a team to save you guys? It was a week or so before Naruto left for two years. Do you remember when I stopped that huge thing from hitting you, and you collapsed? You didn't push me away when I grabbed you and stopped your fall. I took your hand that day, Gaara. and you let me. And even after a year of changing the way you looked at the world, you still didn't like people touching you. And you let me, Gaara."

"I remember," Gaara whispered quietly, "I thought you were insane. I think I told that pink-haired-idiot so as well."

The Leaf jonin laughed, "well, you really shouldn't call her that, but yes, I think you did too." He smiled broadly, untangling Gaara's arms from around him and leading him into the bedroom. "So . . . If you're ready, I'd like to prove to you that I'm different from everyone else. That I'm not scared of you, ever." He sat down on the bed, waiting as the redhead sat beside him, "and . . . That you are my most precious person . . ." He leaned over, letting his lips brush against the Kazekage's.

Gaara's eyes widened as Lee began to deepen he kiss, but his eyes closed again as his mouth was penetrated by the Leaf's tongue. Now _this_ was new. It was weird, and strange . . . And . . ._ Good . . ._

The Kazekage smirked against Lee's mouth, making the other open his eyes in slight surprise, before the redhead toppled them both backwards onto the bed. While Lee was caught off guard, he forced his own way into Lee's mouth, testing out this new trick. Which only worked for a few short seconds before Lee retaliated, not about to be outdone. Gaara could almost hear the mental challenge Lee was screaming in his head as their tongues dueled. Always a contest with this one, wasn't it. But that was something he liked about Lee.

The redhead rolled over from where he was laying on his side until he was on his back, making Lee follow him so as not to "lose" whatever challenge he'd set for himself. Gaara pushed a hand against Lee's chest, levering the Jonin away from his mouth.

Lee's eyes snapped open in surprise, noticing that he was suddenly leaning over the Kazekage, though he couldn't quite recall how _that_ had happened. "Something wrong?" he asked, "too fast?"

"No," Gaara drawled out, stretching his arms up above his head. "But I am getting slightly bored of that challenge you have set in your head." He trailed a hand across Lee's chest, watching with satisfaction as the older man shivered. "I want you to show me _more_."

Lee's eyes widened, "y-yeah, sure. I was just trying to take it slow, Gaara." He hadn't been sure on how Gaara would react to any of this, so slow had been the best option in his head. But he'd forgotten the Kazekage's impatience with board games. So it was highly possible the redhead wasn't to keen on waiting about this either. Lee swallowed, and lowered a hand down to the bottom of Gaara's neck, slowly tracing a path down the Kazekage's chest. He grinned as Gaara made a noise half between a growl at the speed, and a hiss of pleasure at the light touch of Lee's fingers as the Jonin drew lazy circles across the redhead's stomach.

The Leaf ninja slowed his decent across the redhead's still damp skin as his fingers met with the edges of the towel around the younger man's waist. But a shinobi should never hesitate, Lee decided almost immediately. The dark haired teen slid a hand underneath the edge of the towel, pulling it open, and discarding it over the edge of the bed. Slowly, he returned his eyes forward until they met emerald green. Gaara was merely staring up at him waiting, and for once, looking a little bit flushed.

Lee lowered his eyes. He'd seen all of this before, they had bathed together more than once after all. But this was . . . Different, somehow. He thought this over for a moment, before leaning down and giving Gaara an experimental lick.

The Kazekage hissed in surprise, and his fingers curled into the sheets on the bed. His eyes squeezed shut as he felt the Jonin's tongue slid higher, dipping into his slit and across the head. The redhead felt his breath hitch in his throat as Lee continued with his experiments, caressing him differently each time.

Rock Lee pulled back after a few moments, reaching over towards his bedside table. He leaned over, swiping a small bottle off of the shelf, before returning his eyes to Gaara. This was the part he was unsure about. He'd read enough . . . Okay, been forced to read, more or less, by Sai, some books on the subject. Stupid, _perceptive_, Sai. But, in this situation, Lee knew that he was the only one completely sure of his love. At least, according to Gaara, the always undecided. And giving yourself to someone was something special, that actually took a lot of guts, if Lee was to believe Sai at all. Which he wasn't sure if he did.

Gaara had noticed the older shinobi's hesitation, "what's wrong?" he whispered, sitting up. He turned his eyes to look at the bottle, and then back to Lee, who was still looking at him blankly.

Lee held out the bottle towards Gaara after a moment, "er . . . You'll be using this on me . . ."

The Sand nin's eyes narrowed. _"Relinquishing your body like that, to someone else, to bind yourself with someone else, it's proof of your love and feelings for that person."_ The Kazekage raised a hand, and pushed the bottle back against Lee's chest. "No. For today . . . It should be the other way around."

"But Gaa-"

It was the Kazekage's turn to silence Lee with a finger to the older teen's lips. "If I can't give you this, Lee then I can never truly say those three stupid words you spout out so much. And I'd like to be able to, one day."

Lee's eyes widened, and he had to force himself not to cry manly tears. Because this was not the moment for that. Maybe later though. "I'd like that too, Gaara," he whispered finally. Leaning forward, his lips brushed against the "ai" tattoo, and he smiled as Gaara shivered. While he kept the Kazekage distracted with small kisses, he opened the bottle, sweeping up some of the stuff onto his fingers.

Apparently, not distracted enough however, as the Kazekage jerked away from the kiss as the first of Lee's fingers slid inside of him. Lee's eyes widened, and he cupped the side of Gaara's face with a hand, concerned. "Gaara . . ."

"It's okay," the redhead murmured after a moment, leaning into Lee's touch. "Keep going."

The Kazekage gripped the sheets with considerable force as Lee began the slow movements of stretching him. He'd definitely get Naruto for this later. Painless, ha, idiotic liar. The moronic blond was some kind of masochist, he decided.

Gaara came back from zoning out slightly, as Lee pressed a hand to his side, starting to roll him over. "No, wait." Lee's eyes widened in surprise, but he stopped. "I want to see you," the Kazekage whispered.

Lee's breath caught in his throat, "It'll hurt more," he whispered.

"I dealt with Shukaku for fifteen years, Lee. I think I'll be okay," the redhead insisted indignantly. He waited as Lee turned him around again, his emerald eyes locking on the Leaf's dark brown. He lay still, though inside, he wanted to run. This was something new, something . . . Slightly scary. His hear pounded in his chest as Lee twined one hand with his, while using the other to lever Gaara's legs onto his shoulders.

The Sand nin shivered as he felt Lee press against him, and he took his hand from Lee's grasp, raising both arms up to encircle the older shinobi's shoulders. He buried his face against Lee's neck as the other pushed inside of him, holding back a gasp.

"You all right?" Lee murmured against Gaara's ear as he encircled his arms around the smaller teen's back.

Gaara nodded, "move."

Lee hesitated, but complied, pulling out slowly, and pushing back in. He smiled slightly as Gaara let out a low growl, before repeating the movement, this time, a little faster.

The redhead gasped in surprise at this, and pressed himself closer to Lee. He hadn't expected it to feel . . ._ Good_. Though Naruto had said it would. Someone like him shouldn't be able to feel pleasure from something like this, but he was. The Kazekage moaned softly as Lee managed to hit that special spot, and his nails dug into the other shinobi's back.

Lee smiled at this reaction, trying not to wince at the nail's clawing at his back. He waited a moment, trying to get that angle again, before continuing with his movements. Gaara clenched around him, making the older shinobi moan as well.

Gaara opened an eye, noticing this. He smirked slightly, taking notice of the challenge glittering in his lover's eyes. Fine then, he'd play along.

The Jonin grinned, Gaara was definitely going to loose this one, because he knew exactly what he had to do. And for once, he thanked Sai for those stupid books and tapes. He withdrew again, and pushed in faster, and harder than before, connecting right on the mark with that special spot. Gaara's hands clenched against his back as he saw stars, and his inside automatically squeezed around Lee. It was too good, too . . . He squeezed around Lee again as the older teen repeated the movement, and felt all his senses go blank as he released himself. He clung to Lee tighter as he felt the Jonin empty himself inside of him.

"Tie," Gaara murmured as Lee began to slid out.

"No, I won that," Lee protested with a yawn, "you came first."

"But you did at almost the exact same time," Gaara pointed out. He ignored Lee's protest at this, and rolled over, sweeping up the covers from the edge of the bed and pulling them overtop of them. "And only sore losers complain," he smirked.

Lee wrapped his arms around his lover, thinking about this remark. "Hmm . . . Well that makes you a sore loser too then. Cause you're claiming it was a tie."

"It was," Gaara murmured, snuggling closer to Lee.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Neji bounced Minato up and down on his knee, playing a small game of horsy with the baby. His pearl white eyes raised up towards the kitchen, where Naruto was attempting to make tea, which was apparently, very difficult. The Hyuga smirked, and lifted Minato off of his leg and up into his arms, heading into the kitchen.

He watched the blond for a moment, taking in the sight of the knuckle-head trying to tear open the cloth teabag. "You're supposed to just put the whole thing in the cup," he said finally, grinning evilly as Naruto jumped in surprise.

"Neji!" The blond scolded, picking up the teabag from where he'd dropped it. "That was mean!"

"It's my job," Neji smirked, leaning against he wall. He watched as Naruto dropped the teabag into the mug, before holding Minato out towards him. "Here, it's nearly his bedtime, right?"

Naruto scowled, "so. You put him to bed sometimes too, if I recall."

"It's your turn though," Neji insisted, bouncing Minato in his grip. "You're his dad, so you should-"

"Dah-dah-dah-dah," Minato gurgled.

Both shinobi stared at the child, Naruto dropping to his knees on the tiled kitchen floor. Neji followed suit, keeping eye level with Naruto. "Minato . . . Who's that," he prompted, holding the child out towards Naruto again.

"Dah-dah-dah," Minato squealed.

Naruto's blue eyes glazed over with tears, "th-that's right," he whispered, reaching out to take Minato. "That's right . . ." He smiled, looking up at Neji, "now . . . Who's that, Minato? Say Mama."

Neji glared, "hey. I'm not-" his eyes widened, and he leaned closer to Naruto. "Hey . . ."

The blonde laughed, "fine, Minato-chan. You can call that idiot over there Dada too."

The Hyuga ran a hand through the blonde's hair. "You . . . Have such a weird way of asking me things, don't you," he muttered. "Aishitaru . . . Naruto . . ."

RANDOM AUTHOR RMABLE

Hmm . . . Is anyone still reading this? *sadness* cause I got no reviews last chapter. Which made me kinda . . . Die. A lot. Which is why it took so long to update this story again. Not that anyone noooooticeeedd . . . *pouts* anywho . . . I'll finish writing it, even if I'm the only one who likes it, dangit. One more full chapter left. Then an ending chapter, and after that, and epilogue.

Which will be titled as so

Gentle Rain (next chapter)

Aishitaru (ending chapter)

Sasuke (epilogue)

I'm really excited for that last one, a scene I've been planning before the story began. (Cause it's Sauske, duh. Even though I hate how mean he is to Naruto in Shippuden, I still like him . . .)

Also, I loved the mentions of Sai I put in this chapter. I love Sai! He'll show up in the epilogue, btw.

Anywho . . . If there's anyone still reading this story, please REVIEW! No reviews make me sad! Which makes me not want to write . . . *hint hint*


	18. Chapter 18

**Love Rebound: Gentle Rain**

Naruto sidestepped around a tree branch hanging over the edge of the wall he was walking on. It was a cloudy afternoon, and Minato was napping in the sling on his back. Neji was out shopping for groceries. The blond sighed. Days like this sucked, there wasn't much to do at all.

"Naaaaarruuuutoooo!!" A bark like voice called excitedly from below.

The soon-to-be-Hokage glanced down from the wall, catching sight of the dark haired teen with the red fang marks beneath his eyes. "Yo, Kiba-kun, what up?"

Kiba scrabbled up the wall, and began walking behind Naruto, "what do you mean, 'what up'? I haven't seen you in forever man!" He leaned over and elbowed the blond in the ribs, "why's that, huh? You have too much . . . Back pains?" He snickered, and flinched as Naruto shot him a blushing glare.

"So what if I have? Is that a bad thing?"

Kiba grinned widely, "nooooo . . . But anywho, that's not what I came looking for you to ask you about."

Naruto stared at his friend, rolling the sentence over in his head until he understood it. "You were looking for me?"

"Yes. Kankuro's been a huge grump, cause Gaara hasn't come by in the past week. He say's it's your fault. And that if I wanted to do him a favor, I should kill you."

The blond shifted into a defensive, shocked position, making Kiba laugh. "Hahaha. No, seriously. He wants to talk to you dude." He promptly grabbed hold of Naruto's shirt, and began pulling him away towards the Inuzuka main estate. "Yaaaayyy! A party, Naruto! This is going to be fun."

"Yeah, I'm already just having sooo much fun."

Kankuro was fixing Karasu when Kiba barged into the room he'd been so kind as to place a "do not disturb" sign on. Startled, he dropped the mallet he was using onto his foot, and he hissed in surprise, before glaring at the Inuzuka. "What, Kiba."

Kiba put his hands on his hips, sticking out his lower lip. "You're so mean. I even brought Naruto all this way for you."

The Sand nin nodded, "good, didn't think he'd listen to you at all. I heard about you taking his midget that time and all. Now go to your room, puppy." He waved a hand, and Kiba stuck his tongue out, but obeyed, stalking off to his room.

Kankuro stood up from his work table, and made his way to the kitchen, where he, not surprisingly, found Naruto raiding his fridge. The blond didn't look up as he entered the room, but called out. "Painty-Sand-dude, you have great stuff in here, you know that?" He rose, a massive compilation of a sandwich in his hands.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at the name, "uh, what is _that_?"

Naruto looked down at the sandwich, then back up at Kankuro, staring at him like he was stupid. "Everything in the fridge sandwich?"

The face painted Sand nin smacked his own forehead. "Fine, sure whatever." He waved a hand towards the kitchen table, "sit. We need to talk."

The blond gladly sat, and began inhaling his sandwich. "Talk about what?" He asked, glancing up at the Sand nin, looking vaguely surprised as Kankuro lowered his hood.

"About our two villages," Kankuro stated, "you're going to take over as Hokage in a month, so I figured you're the one I should talk to about this, rather than the old lady. And you'll probably think of a better solution. It's half your fault anyways."

Naruto swallowed the last of is snack, "_my _fault? What? What's my- wait . . ."

"This is about Gaara," Kankuro confirmed. "Naruto, he has to leave as soon as you're accepted as the new Hokage, do you realize that? And he won't make a very good Kazekage if he doesn't want to return to his own village. And he can't be moving back and forth from here and Suna, Naruto. You should have thought of that before you decided to play "match maker" with him and Lee."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I was thinking, Kankuro. He's a lot happier now. He smiles, he laughs sometimes, he's obsessed with board games. He's living the life his childhood never let him live."

"But he can't stay here," Kankuro stated.

"Then Lee can-"

"Lee can't live in Suna without giving up his Leaf headband. And you and I both know that he would never do that." Kankuro sighed, resting his head in his hands. "Actually . . . It's more than just Gaara and Lee you have a problem with right now . . . That's why . . . I'm proposing we make an exchange."

"Ex-change?" Naruto tilted his head, confused.

"Suna and Konoha had a system in the past, called the 'Diplomatic Joint Agreement.' This is where the two villages each station a well seasoned Jonin in each other's village. The Jonin remains a citizen and shinobi of their own village, and can still accomplish missions with their Kage's permission. But they can also participate in joint village missions, and are placed in one of the five advisors to the Kage's positions. So, Lee would be Gaara's advisor, as well as a legal member of both villages." Kankuro looked up, trying to see if the blond had understood all that.

Naruto, strange enough, appeared to be deep in thought. "Hmmm . . . So, if we do that, don't I get one of your guys as my advisor too? Who do I get?" Kankuro smirked, "well, if you're willing to listen to my thoughts once and awhile, like right now for instance, I think I could be of some use to you."

The blond raised an eyebrow, "_you_? Why would you want to stay here and-"

A flying blur jumped off the stairs and flung itself around Kankuro, "You're staying!?!?!"

The Sand shinobi grimaced, and tried in vain to untie Kiba's arms from around his neck. "Choking, Kiba, Choking. And anyways, when did I stay that?"

"Just now," Kiba wined, "you said you weren't gonna before. Liar liar."

"Saying 'probably,' isn't really lying," Kankuro stated, finally managing to pry Kiba's arms from around his neck.

Naruto stared at them across the table. "Ewwww . . . You guys? Seriously?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "what do you care, back-pain-boy?" He huffed as Kiba sprawled across his lap, grabbing him around the waist in a lock-tight embrace, as if threatening him in case he left. "Anyways, can you go talk to Gaara about this? Much as I'd like to bug him about New Years, I'm a bit stuck at the moment, as you can see." He made a shooing motion with his hand.

The blond laughed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you owe me Ramen for a month."

The oldest Sand sibling groaned, "three square meals a day?"

"No, lunch every other day. Or Neji will find out," Naruto said huffily.

"Well, greens and veggies are good for you, Naruto," Kankuro stated with a smirk, knowing full well the meal plans the Hyuga had laid out for the blond. "And speaking of which, Kiba, you need more of that in your diet too."

Kiba glared up at Kankuro from his sprawled position across the older man's lap, but said nothing. He'd rather eat a the damn things than risk Kankuro threatening to go back to Suna if he didn't. Bastard.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

Gaara was swinging his legs back and forth as he sat on the wall outside his and Lee's apartment. The stupid idiot was late. Didn't Naruto remember that they had some more things to discuss about running an entire village? It was part of his training after all, the reason Gaara of the Sand was in Konoha for such a long period of time in the first place. And yet Naruto still managed to miss a quarter of their meetings. And if Gaara wasn't such an experienced, serious faced liar, Tsunade would have killed him by now.

But there was more than just that weighing on the Kazekage's mind. He was worried about Lee too. The Jonin had only yesterday been painfully reminded that Konoha was not Gaara's home. Temari had called, asking his opinion on a treaty between the hidden Waterfall Village, and Sand. Of course she would call for something like that, and Lee had almost forgotten that Gaara's place was not here.

The redhead himself was a little put off by it as well. He wanted to ask Lee to come back with him, that was the only plausible option. He himself could not travel regularly between villages, like Shikamaru or Temari. He was the Kazekage. And Lee couldn't come out of his way to see him all the time either. The only reason his sister and that Nara boy maintained anything was the fact that they could shift between villages so easily. A Kazekage could not do so.

But he couldn't ask Lee to come with him. It would be something permanent, and by Suna's law, Lee would have to forfeit his Leaf headband, and his rank. He could never ask that of Lee. Not after everything the Jonin had gone through to get where he was today. Not when he himself was the one who had nearly stopped Lee from being a Shinobi at all. No, he couldn't take Lee away from Konoha, just as he couldn't leave his own village.

They would just have to say goodbye, and that would be the end of it.

Gaara clenched his hands into the front of his long Kazekage robes, trying to still the shaking in them. Wasn't love supposed to fill up those holes in his heart? It wasn't working, right now, it was just threatening to tear them even more.

"Gaara?"

The Kazekage's head jerked around, startled at the sudden appearance of the blond beside him. He said nothing, though he thought of stating how late Naruto was, but the words wouldn't come. His throat seemed swollen, and his fingers ground into the front of his robes again. He couldn't get the thought of saying goodbye to Lee out of his head.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side in concern. The Kazekage's eyes were all scrunched up, the black rings around them furrowed.

Gaara looked away, shaking his head slowly. The words still wouldn't come. Yashamaru had said that love wouldn't hurt him. His uncle had lied, he could see that now.

"Is this about Lee?" The blond asked hesitantly. But Gaara said nothing, which was as close as Naruto could get to a yes at this point. "Gaara . . . Have you ever heard of a 'Diplomatic Joint Agreement'?"

Gaara looked up at this, a nonexistent eyebrow raised, "no."

"Well, basically, I trade Lee for your brother. It's perfectly legal, and they'll both retain full citizenship to their birth villages, as well as their positions as Shinobi." The blond turned a glance towards the darkening sky with a frown, before looking to Gaara for an answer.

"Lee . . . Can come back to Suna? And keep being a Leaf shinobi?" He stood up, glaring at Naruto as if to try and confirm that this was the truth of not. "Are you certain?"

Naruto took a step back, grinning, "why would I lie, Gaara. It's true, every word."

Thunder rolled and boomed above them, and Naruto visibly flinched. Gaara narrowed his eyes, but said nothing at this. Instead, he turned his back to the blond, "thank my brother for me, will you? I have to go call Temari and discuss this."

"Hey, how do you know I didn't find that stuff out for you?" Naruto pouted, trying his best to ignore the distant lightning flash.

Gaara glanced at him over his shoulder, letting slip a small, sarcastic smile, before walking across the wall top towards his and Lee's apartment.

Naruto gave himself a mental high five for his accomplishment, casting another wary look at the sky. There was a reason he didn't like the rain, and he didn't feel like reliving it at the moment. He jumped off the wall and hurried through the streets towards his own home, making sure not to jostle the sleeping Minato more than necessary.

He made it inside his door just as the first raindrops began pounding down on his roof. Unstrapping Minato from his back, he did his best to ignore the melodic, gentle noise of the water overhead, and laid the child down in his crib.

But it was impossible. With every near silent tap against the world outside, against his roof, he could see it. The bloodstained rocks. The gapping hole in flesh. The blood soaking through his old black and orange jacket. The dark, obsidian eyes loosing their light and glazing over. And the soft, reassuring hand against his cheek, slipping down to fall against the stones, never to move again.

Naruto fell back against the wall in the hallways between his room and the living room. His hands over his ears. He couldn't make it go away. The rain on the day he'd awoken to find a scarred Leaf headband clenched tightly in his hand. The rain on the day he'd protected his village. Protected it from the person he cared about more than anyone else. They were the same. And they both echoed in his head now. Except, there was no longer any hope from that old, dusty headband that lay on his dresser inside the room down the hall. Sasuke was dead. And the rain was Naruto's tears, whispering inside his head every time the sky spilled out, reminding him who had killed the last of the Uchiha.

Neji had been only slightly surprised to come out of the supermarket to find it raining. It wasn't that unusual for this time in early spring. But his gaze darkened at it all the same as he hurried trough the puddles towards home. It could guess what Naruto was thinking right now, left alone at their apartment. The same guilt that always flashed through his eyes at even the far off sound of thunder. The guilt in his gaze when he passed the headband on the dresser. The way his hand always strayed to the tattoo hidden under his cloths, just over his heart.

The Hyuga practically kicked the door in as he dropped the groceries in the entryway. The lights were out in the house, and a quick scan of the front rooms told him that Naruto wasn't in the immediate line of sight. He ran through the living room, about to check their bedroom, when he nearly tripped over the blond.

Naruto looked up, startled, as Neji knelt down in front of him. The Hyuga's smooth, strong fingers brushed against his cheeks, pulling back to silently show Naruto the tears on his palms from the contact. "I'm sorry," the blond whispered. "Gomenasai . . ."

Neji grasped the blonde's hand, "you have nothing to apologize for. Now, come on." He smiled as Naruto's blue eyes glimmered with uncertainty. "We're going outside."

The blond flinched, and tried to pull back, tears stinging his eyes as Neji dragged him out into the rain. Neji's grip on him released as the older man closed the door to their house. "Why?"

The Hyuga turned towards him again, leading him out more into the downpour. "Because, I want you to remember more than just that day when it rains." He shifted his hand in Naruto's, lacing their fingers together. "So, I'll help you make some new ones."

Naruto's eyes widened as the dark haired man suddenly leaned forwards to capture his lips. And he closed them slowly as the older man ravaged his lips instantly. His hands fumbled out of Neji's grip, one circling around the man's back, the other trailing across the top left of his chest, where he knew the tattoo of the fox lay.

And he hardly noticed the rain, not even the frigidness of it, as Neji held him close. And now, all he could hear was the older man's heartbeat mingled with his own. He gasped slightly as Neji pulled away, opening glazed eyes a bit. There wasn't any more blood in his vision, and the pounding of the rain was muffled somehow as he looked up at Neji.

"I love you."

Neji's pearl-white eyes widened, as he wasn't the one who spoke those words. Naruto himself looked startled at them, but there was no regret in his eyes. Neji smiled, drawing the younger shinobi closer to him underneath the slowing drizzle of rain. "I love you too, idiot."

Gaara leaned back against Lee's chest as he stared out the window at the misting light rain from the clouds beginning to part. "You're like the rain, Lee," he murmured, touching the rough hands that were twined across his chest.

Rock Lee laughed quietly, "so you've told me. But aren't I also the umbrella, Gaara? That shields you from the rain?"

"I don't need protecting," the Kazekage stated, a tinge annoyed.

"And neither do I," Lee smiled, "so let's just say that we'll protect each other from danger, even if we say we don't need it. And heal each other with the rain, even if we say that we're fine."

"Who are you and what have you done with me Lee?" Gaara asked sarcastically at his lover's attempt at a wise comment.

"Your Lee?" The Jonin raised a large eyebrow.

"Mine," Gaara confirmed.

"And my Gaara," Lee whispered, pulling the Kazekage closer against his chest with a smirk.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

^-_-^ . . . . . . I'm supposed to be typing an English essay right now. But it hurts my brain. Then again, so does Naruto in general. :]

So here you go, a new chapter for my one reviewer, and many lurkers. *pouts*


	19. Chapter 19

Love Rebound: Aishitaru

**Blue eyes widened as the blond heard the loud voices outside. The voices of so many people, more than he could count, definitely. He'd never been much good at math anyways. Oh god, what if a Hokage was supposed to be good at math? Gaara hadn't said anything about that, but what if it was a no-brainer? And what if a Hokage was supposed to look tall and majestic? Or something like that. He certainly wasn't tall, and he didn't really think he was majestic either . . . But what if everyone expected something like that? Or what if-**

"**You're freaking out again," a calm voice whispered behind the blond. Naruto whirled around, facing pearl-white eyes and dark hair tied back in a long ponytail. "It's going to be fine, Naruto. Tsunade chose you as her heir, and there's nothing more to say about it. You've risked your life for the village more times than anyone can count, and they all know that. You may be short, and you may be a little thickheaded, but we all expect that of you. And if anyone says anything about the fox to you**_** ever**_**, they'll end up in pieces in an incinerator, via me." **

**Naruto sighed, leaning back against Neji's chest for a brief moment, "thank you."**

**Neji smirked, running a hand through the blonde's hair, "we'll be right behind you."**

**The blond cast a backwards glance over his shoulder as the Jonin in front of him motioned for them to make their way outside. There was Neji, holding Minato in the crook of his arm, and Gaara leaning against the wall with a bored look on his face, as if he'd seen it all before. And Kankuro and Lee, their assigned body guards for the day. They were all watching him, waiting, believing in him.**

**Naruto grinned, turning towards the doorway again, the long white cloak with the red flame trimmed edges billowing out behind him. "Right, Dattebayo! Let's get this over with!"**

**The world seemed bright, as they stepped out into the light of the outside, onto the roof of the Hokage's building, overlooking the gathered crowd. Naruto blinked in surprise, from the unexpected sunlight and the sudden cheering of the people below. They were cheering, cheering for him as he made his way over to the railing. He couldn't believe it. That these people, the same people who had glared at him from the sidelines most of his life, hating him for the creature inside him, rather than the person, were suddenly cheering for him. They were saying his name, and cheering.**

**Naruto squeezed his eyes shut at the blinding light, turning to look down at the crowd as he leaned over the railing just slightly. His fingers gripped the bar tightly, and he bet if he had a little more upper body strength, the force would have bent it in his nervousness.**

**Then he caught sight of people he recognized. Hinata, waving up at him from directly below, smiling and laughing next to Shino and Kiba. Choji, eating a huge tub of popcorn as if he was simply at the movies, Ino stealing a handful from it, and Sakura off to her side. And leaning against a wall off to the side, smirking slightly, Sai, his eyes closed as if he was simply waiting.**

**Naruto smiled slowly, "well, I guess I'm supposed to say something right now, huh?" The crowd cheered again. "I didn't exactly prepare anything," He ducked, as Tsunade tossed something at his head. Probably a rock. The crowd laughed. "Anyways, I always thought spontaneous speeches sounded the best, so here goes."**

"**I'm not sure how many of you know this, but I have the spirit of the nine-tailed fox sealed inside of me. The same fox that nearly destroyed our village nineteen years ago. My father, the fourth Hokage, put it inside me because he hoped that I'd be able to use it to protect our village. And so far, I hope I have. I've protected this village with my life. And sometimes, I didn't want to. When I had to stand between my village and the person that meant more to me than anything else in the world, my heart broke. But I stood my ground, and in the end, he died, at my hands. But I stayed. I stayed and kept my village safe. And I hope to keep doing so in the future, for my friends," he smiled down at the remaining 'rookie nine,' "For the people I love," He turned to glance over his shoulder at Neji and Minato, "and for the people that died to save this village, and died doing what they thought was right," he closed his eyes. "So if you'll have me, even with my flaws, I'd like to stand up here and be your Hokage."**

**There was absolute silence for a moment, before one set of hands began to clap. Sai, eyes still closed as he leaned against the wall, brought his hands together slowly, over and over again, until the other 'rookie nine' picked up on it, leading the whole crowd as they cheered and clapped.**

**Naruto grinned, laughing as Neji placed Minato in his arms amidst the whoops and cheers. His eyes flickered out over the crowd again, and his breath caught in his throat. Someone was walking away through the middle of the throng of people, unnoticed. His dark, spiky hair shone in the sunlight, reflecting down onto the white pants and shirt he wore. As the blond stared, he turned, for the briefest of moments, smirking, a genuine smile in his onyx eyes, a hand raised in a greeting, and a farewell. Minato squealed in his arms, pointing towards the person, before he turned and continued through the crowd until he was lost to sight.**

"**You did well," Neji murmured in his ear, pulling Naruto away from what he'd seen. "And you will do well in the future, as their Hokage."**

**The blond smiled, the tears held back in the corners of his eyes, "yes. As long as I have all of you, I think I'll be alright." He glanced back out over the crowd again, and back to Neji. "Aishitaru, Neji."**

**Neji smirked, "aishitaru, Naruto."**

**RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE**

**Technically . . . I could just end it here. But I still kinda wanna write the final scene. - 3 - this chapter actually makes me cry a little bit, specially the part where Sasuke waves goodbye. Btw, he's wearing white cause he's . . . dead? Idk how else to explain it. *le shrug* but that's one of the images I've had in my head since the start of the story. And one I hope they put in the manga, since, there are two things I know for certain. That Sasuke will die, and that Naruto will be Hokage. *thumbs up and yay Sai! He's not in most of the story cause then it woulda been a NejiNaruSai story, but I love him. My giant poster of him fell on my face last night, which was scary though. (it was on the ceiling, cause I ran outa room on the walls).**

**Anywho . . . I'm finally just gonna finish this up, cause I got inspiration for something awesome. Which I can't write until I finish this. Yaaaaayyyy . . . **


	20. Chapter 20

**Love Rebound: Epilogue**

**Sasuke**

Naruto looked up from the rice ball he was mushing together at the sound of footsteps running down the street, right towards his house. Over the years he had gotten quite good at cooking, if he said so himself. But Neji said it tasted good too, so he must have. And he thoroughly enjoyed the art, though he didn't like making soup, for some reason it tended to explode, though how he didn't know. Neji kept saying that it was supposed to be impossible, yet it kept happening. Currently, he was making a boxed lunch for the older man to take to him later, as Neji was currently out training his team of Genin.

The footsteps grew louder and the front door burst open. He could make out two sets of steps now, hurtling towards the kitchen. Naruto turned just in time to catch sight of the two children stumbling into the room. The younger child, with dark golden-brown hair and pearl-white eyes, was pulling his older brother by the hand. The older brother, with his dark spiky black hair and his other hand not in his brother's grip, was covering his eyes, rubbing at them as if they hurt.

"Da, da!" the smaller sibling yelled loudly, in a volume reminiscent of his father's younger years, "something's wrong with Minato's eyes!"

Naruto smiled gently, putting the rice ball down and kneeling on the floor in front of the children. "Oh? What do you mean Aoi?"

The younger child, Aoi, tugged at his brother's hand, but Minato merely shook his head, continuing to cover his eyes. "Um, some of Minato's classmates were practicing kunai and shuriken throwing behind the school, and I wanted to watch, but I stood to close to the target I guess, and Haruka almost hit me . . . But Minato jumped in the way and caught the kunai! But something happened to his eyes."

"What happened to his eyes," a deep voice asked from behind Naruto.

The blond screeched, falling over himself in surprise as Neji suddenly appeared. The Hyuga raised an eyebrow at him, a smile playing in the corners of his mouth. He turned towards the children, still standing, "please be more specific, Aoi."

As Naruto tried desperately to return to composure of a father, and Hokage of the Leaf village, Aoi spread his hands and twirled them around in his explanation, "they got all red and like this!"

Neji and Naruto glanced at each other, their eyes widening simultaneously. The blond turned towards his oldest child, detaching him from his brother, and balancing him on his knee. "Minato, stop rubbing, that wont make it go away. Let's see those eyes now."

Minato looked up, removing his hands from his face. His eyes glistened with frightened tears, where beneath, they shone red, with a single comma-like mark near his pupil. Naruto smiled slowly, running a hand swiftly across his own eyes. "It's all right, Minato. It's normal for you to have those eyes when you're fighting, or protecting someone you love. When you get a little farther into your classes, I'll show you how to use them, okay?"

"Will they go away? They look funny." Minato asked.

"Errr . . ." Naruto looked up at Neji, confused.

Neji smirked, leaning down to touch two fingers to the side of Minato's head, "release," he murmured. The red faded from the child's eyes, and he blinked up at his father gratefully.

"Why don't you go play now," Naruto said, releasing Minato so that his younger brother could once again command his total attention. "And Aoi, don't go so close to where people are throwing kunai anymore!" He called after them as they ran outside. He was silent a moment, listening as they ran down the street, before he stood up to continue his rice ball making.

"He has the sharingan," Neji whispered, leaning against the counter beside him, "I'm not surprised, he looks just like his father." He stared up at the ceiling a moment, before turning and brushing a hand across Naruto's cheek, pulling it away to examine the tiny droplets he'd caught against his fingers. "Come here, idiot. Happy tears, or sad ones, I hate it when you cry alone."

Naruto laughed, turning and flinging himself at his lover. "Sorry, gomen. How did you know to show up anyways?"

"I told my team to take a lunch break, thought I'd eat at home for once," the Hyuga explained. "Maybe get a little _dessert _too."

The blond smirked, leaning up to kiss the older man lightly, "oh, _dessert_, huh? I don't know . . . Have you been good and eaten all your veggies?"

"Not yet . . ." Neji crooned, and then promptly jumped as the door slammed open again, the two children barreling back into the house. Naruto groaned, but leaned back a bit from Neji, still remaining in his arms, but trying not to look as if they'd been doing anything to suspicious.

Minato and Aoi came running in, holding a large envelope in between them. "Look! Look what we got!" they chimed together.

_Dear Naruto and Neji,_

_How are the kids? I hear that they're a handful. Kankuro wrote us last week saying how they wreaked his workshop and got stuck in one of the puppets when he babysat them. Kiba still thinks they're great though, apparently he found it hilarious. Sai stopped by the other day when you sent his squad over here on that mission. Thank you for that by the way, they were a huge help repairing the garrison, we've had our hands full on the northern border. Anyways, apparently Sai gave Gaara a new book on "positions" if you know what I mean. But as Kazekage, he's been a little too tied up to try them, and keeps bugging me on coming to the office on my lunch breaks. You turned him into a pervert, Naruto, I blame you! Hatsumi had another litter of kittens yesterday, you guys should take one this time. Or two. Because Kankuro said that Kiba might kill him if he brought anymore home, and Sakura has one already too, though Gaara was overly reluctant to give it to her. _

_We've been super busy over here, as you know, with the Village hidden in the Stone trying to take our water up north. But thank you for sending Gai-sensei! He gives empowering lectures to the slacking shinobi about the value of youth and love! They immediately start working again, though for some reason they start as soon as he starts talking, rather than at the end. Gaara just sort of stares at him from a ten foot distance._

_I'm assigned to come back over there for the holidays, and Gaara says he's going to come as well this year. He seems to like the snow a lot, and wants to see the children again as well. Two things he can't do here in Suna. So we hope to see you then!_

_- Rock Lee_

Naruto laughed as he finished reading the letter, handing it to Neji so that the Jonin could tack it to the wall with the other letters. "Those two never change, do they. I'm sure Gaara's gonna let me have it for sending Gai over there when they come visit. And Lee for giving Sai that book. You're going to have to defend me Neji."

Neji smirked, glancing at the blond out of the corners of his eyes as he hoisted both children onto his shoulders to take them outside. "I think not. Sounds like you've been up to no good. I can't figure out how you manage to mess with those two even from this distance."

"Skill, tebayo" Naruto grinned.

"You know, you never change either," Neji muttered, leaning down to kiss his lover briefly before he too the kids outside, making sure to lock the door behind them this time.

END

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

All done. There is some explaining to do here I guess. Basically, seven years have passed between the last chapter and this epilogue. Minato is eight. Aoi is five. Aoi, by the way, is Naruto and Neji's child, and has the Byakugan. Naruto sort of overuses his powers of Hokage on occasion, like using technology and medi-nins to make him another kid. But Aoi's a pretty little boy, with Neji's eyes and dark golden-brown hair. I'm going to upload a picture of him and Minato onto my site soon too, cause I like them.

Sorry there was no LeeGaa in this last chapter and the epilogue. Apart from the letter that is. But I feel that they more or less worked out their problems already. Where as Neji and Naruto had a few kinks to sort out, and Minato too here. :D and that's why the epilogue is called "Sasuke," Cause Minato inherits his father's eyes.

Well, I hope all of you enjoyed this fic, it was my first serious long term anime one, and I enjoyed writing it. I hope the never-ending hell of Naruto really ends well, with enough loose ends for the Yaoi fans to fill in the blanks, like so. *stabs Sakura*

For all of you who reviewed, and the reviewers of the future, *hugs* thank you!


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